Dhubri (Assam), May 1: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party has “developed” a washing machine where “corrupt people and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma was the “first one in this regard” while questioning his transformation from a tainted leader and escaping scrutiny after joining BJP.
She criticised the BJP for rewarding those who were once the subject of public outcry with positions of power and swift clearance of allegations against leaders who had faced scrutiny while in opposition parties.
“There is ‘mafia raj’ in Assam. There were serious charges against your CM when he was in the Congress party. As soon as he switched to BJP, all charges against him were washed off. BJP has developed a washing machine where corrupt people are put. Your CM was the first one in this regard,” Priyanka Gandhi said while addressing a public meeting in Assam’s Dhubri on Wednesday.
She also hit out at the BJP-led government in the Centre accusing them of being “entirely focussed on its own interests.”
“This govt is entirely focused on its own interests. They are not bothered about the struggles of the public. Unemployment is the highest today. 70 crore people are unemployed,” she said. Priyanka also criticised the Prime Minister for allegedly sharing the stage with a “criminal” stressing the obscene video controversy involving JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna in Karnataka.
“People from his party committed crimes and videos came out. Modi ji was on the stage with the same criminal, but that criminal fled the country. Modi ji did not stop. A soldier’s wife was stripped in Manipur. Our Olympic medalist went to Modi ji’s house when the same woman came out on the road, Modi ji did not say anything about it. Farmers agitated but Modi ji did not even meet them,” she said.
Assam recorded a 78.25 per cent polling percentage in the first phase of polls in five parliamentary constituencies – Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga and Sonitpur on April 19. The next phase of polls in four Lok Sabha seats in Assam – Guwahati, Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Dhubri will be held on May 7.
Forty-seven candidates are in the fray in the third phase of polls and more than 81 lakh voters will exercise their franchise. Voting for the second phase took place on April 26 across 88 Lok Sabha constituencies, including all 20 seats in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, eight in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, five each in Assam and Bihar, six in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one each in Tripura, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir.
The first phase of voting for the seven-phased Lok Sabha election was held on April 19 in 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs, with over 62 per cent voter turnout. The counting of votes for all seven phases of Lok Sabha polls will be held on June 4, 2024.
