Will get Rahul arrested after elections: Biswa

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday declared that he will ensure the arrest of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, but after the Lok Sabha elections. "If we take action now, they will call it a political move," he said a day after a police case was filed against the former Congress president, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra through Assam.

Mr Gandhi, who on Wednesday addressed three public meetings in Western Assam, dared the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government to file as many cases as it can and said that he will not be intimidated.

Addressing public meetings in Barpeta district in Assam, Mr Gandhi reiterated his charges against Mr Sarma and termed him the most corrupt chief minister of the country.

Mr Gandhi said: “I don't know how Mr Sarma got the idea that he can intimidate me by filing cases. File as many cases as you can. File 25 more cases; you can't intimidate me. The BJP-RSS can't intimidate me."

Amid support from the crowd, he said, “The BJP-RSS wants to wipe out the language, culture and history of Assam. They want to run Assam from Nagpur, but we will not allow it. Assam will be run from Assam only."

He went on to target the Assam chief minister, saying, “While he (Mr Sarma) speaks to you, he steals your land. While you chew betel nuts, he corners the supari business. He steals money from your pocket. He has taken land in Kaziranga National Park also."

Further referring to the media conglomerate owned by the wife of Mr Sarma, Mr Gandhi alleged that TV media shows what the chief minister wants in the state.

“Mr Sarma is controlled by (Union home minister) Amit Shah. If anyone says anything against Mr Shah, he is thrown out by Mr Sarma within two minutes. Tarun Gogoi was also a CM, but he did what Assam wanted. Gogoi was my guru, but I never told him what to do," he said.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of a government programme in Sibsagar district, Mr Sarma claimed that Mr Gandhi “fled" from Guwahati city after instigating the Congress workers. He said, "We have filed an FIR. A special investigation team will conduct the investigation and he (Mr Gandhi) will be arrested."

On Wednesday, the Assam police booked Mr Gandhi, along with other Congress leaders, including K.C. Venugopal and Kanhaiya Kumar, over the charges of violence, provocation, damage to public property and assault on police personnel.

The Assam chief minister had on Tuesday directed the state director-general of police to register a case against the Congress MP for allegedly 'provoking a crowd’.