Guwahati, July 16: Call it coincidence if you may, but Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s sharp critique of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during a public meeting in Chaygaon on Wednesday .
“I don’t speak without thinking. Whatever I say, it happens. Mark my words – very soon, you will see your Chief Minister being arrested. And no power, not even PM Modi or Amit Shah, can prevent it,” Gandhi declared to a roaring crowd at Chaygaon’s Bongaon.
He further added that it wouldn’t be the Congress that brings Sarma to justice, but the people of Assam.
“He will be arrested by the youth of Assam, by its farmers, labourers, and people from every religion and community – because they know he is corrupt,” Gandhi said.
The former AICC General Secretary didn’t stop there. Taking aim at the ongoing eviction drives across the state, Gandhi accused Chief Minister Sarma of using development as a guise for alleged land grabbing.
“He grabs land under the pretext of solar power projects or resorts. He robs the state’s land 24/7 – and everyone knows it,” Gandhi alleged.
He added that the problems seen in Assam are not isolated but part of a wider national trend.
“The way land is handed over to Adani, Ambani, and Ramdev is the same across India. Small business owners, farmers, and labourers are being crushed. Just five or six billionaires are gaining control of the country’s land, water, and forests. But this country doesn’t belong to them – it belongs to the people,” he concluded.
Just hours before Gandhi’s public meeting, Chief Minister Sarma had stirred a political storm on social media, claiming that during a closed-door Congress meeting held at a Guwahati hotel, Gandhi had vowed to send him to jail.
“Take it in writing, Himanta Biswa Sarma will definitely be sent to jail’ – these were the exact words spoken by the Leader of the Opposition, Shri Rahul Gandhi, during his closed-door meeting with the Congress Political Affairs Committee in Assam…” Sarma wrote in his post.
Notably, this is not the first time the Chief Minister has claimed to have knowledge of confidential discussions within the Opposition camp.
Wednesday’s developments have once again brought such assertions into the spotlight – raising fresh questions on political strategy, surveillance, and timing.