During the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, hundreds of Congress workers clashed with police and broke through barricades after being stopped outside of Guwahati. This led to a bitter verbal exchange between Rahul Gandhi, the former Congress chief, and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is leading the 6,600km march.
Later that day, Gandhi, Congressmen KC Venugopal and Kanhaiya Kumar, among others, were the subject of a formal complaint, according to Sarma.
Around noon, Congress supporters attempted to break through barricades set up to stop the yatra from continuing to a busy section of Guwahati, claiming potential traffic delays. Assam police responded with batons, scattering the protesters.
A day after Gandhi was prevented from visiting one of the most significant shrines in the state, in Nagaon, he staged a sit-in. Among those hurt in the police action were Assam Congress chairman Bhupen Kumar Borah and the leader of the opposition in the assembly, Debabrata Saikia.
The confrontation gave rise to a political dispute.
“We have broken down the barricades, but Congress workers would not break the law… Congress workers are not afraid of anyone, including the [ruling] BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and [its ideological fount] Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh,” said Rahul Gandhi in an address from atop a bus, minutes after the confrontation.
Sarma retaliated, claiming that he had given the state police instructions to file a complaint against Rahul for inciting the mob, citing the social media clip as proof. This is not the culture of Assam. We live in a tranquil state. He wrote on X, “Such Naxalite practices are totally alien to our society. The “unruly behavior” and “violation of agreed guidelines,” he continued, were the cause of the Guwahati traffic gridlock.
After Gandhi was stopped on Monday morning near Batadrava Than, the Assamese holy site and birthplace of social reformer-saint Srimanta Sankardeva from the 15th century, tensions were already running hot. Gandhi then sat for more than an hour in protest.
The Assam administration urged the Congress to take the ring road on Tuesday morning, informing them that the yatra, which started in Manipur on January 14, will not be permitted to approach the centre of Guwahati due to the possibility of traffic bottlenecks. But the Congress persisted on the original plan, citing past permissions for BJP leader JP Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah to hold road shows in the heart of Guwahati.
Barricades were erected near Khanapara, on the outskirts of Guwahati, to stop the yatra from continuing to GS thoroughfare, the busiest thoroughfare in the state capital of Assam, when Congress workers refused to retreat. Before being stopped by police, hundreds of Congress activists, Borah, Saikia, and the bus carrying Gandhi attempted to forcefully break through the barricades and continue the yatra as it approached Khanapara.
Police used a baton charge as the situation worsened, and in the ensuing brawl, Borah, Saikia, and a few others tumbled to the ground. Saikia suffered injuries to his legs, Borah received a slight cut to his right hand, and a few other workers also received bruises and other injuries.
Gandhi pledged to defend the rights of the people and stated that his party will establish Assam’s next government when Congressmen battled the police.
Borah hit out at Sarma. “This is how the state government is treating us. We broke down three barricades set up to prevent our yatra from progressing, but we will continue as planned,” he said.
Sarma accused the Congress for the violence. Sarma left the Congress in 2015 and is credited with the BJP’s quick rise in the Northeast.
“They didn’t listen to us and indulged in confrontation with the police while Gandhi was witnessing and instigating them from his vehicle. I have directed the police to lodge a case and take action as per law. Gandhi won’t be arrested now, he will be arrested after Lok Sabha polls,” he said.
He verified that a FIR had been filed hours later.
“With reference to wanton acts of violence, provocation, damage to public property and assault on police personnel today by Cong members, a FIR has been registered against Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal , Kanhaiya Kumar and other individuals under section 120(B)143/147/188/283/353/332/333/427 IPC R/W Sec. 3 of PDPP Act,” Sarma said in post on X.
The Assam chief minister stated that the Congress insisted on carrying out the yatra through Guwahati with 300 vehicles and some 3,000 workers, causing severe traffic problems in the city, despite repeated requests over the previous six days to not do so.
“Action is being taken as per law. Unruliness and violation of ASL (advanced security liaison) decision including attempt to change route through force is also being taken up with appropriate agencies,” Assam director general of police GP Singh said in a post on X.
After the minutes-long melee, the Congress relented. The yatra then bypassed the city, and at Hajo, a pilgrimage town 30km away, Gandhi told reporters that the disruptions will benefit the party. “The things that Assam CM has been doing against the yatra is benefitting us… the kind of publicity, which we might not have got, are getting now because of what the Assam CM and maybe Union home minister Amit Shah are doing,” Gandhi said.
“Stopping us from entering a temple, college and the yatra itself (from entering Guwahati) is their style. It’s a way to intimidate us. We are not afraid and will not get intimidated. Frankly, it benefits us as our message of nyay (justice) is reaching all,” he added.
Gandhi, addressing Sarma specifically, restated a previous charge that the chief minister of Assam was among the most dishonest in India. “The state is not run by the CM. It’s managed out of Delhi,” Gandhi remarked.
Gandhi stated that the chief ministers of Bihar and West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar, respectively, have received invitations from the Congress to participate in the yatra when it passes through their states. He added that initiatives for women, Dalits, and other backward castes would be revealed later by the 28-party Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.
“At present, nearly 60% of India’s voters are with the INDIA alliance… We will take a call on it (on who would be the prime ministerial candidate if the alliance comes to power) after the elections,” he said.
Ripun Bora, the chairman of the Assam Trinamool Congress (TMC), has stated that a number of party members participated in the yatra in Guwahati and joined it after it left the city.
On January 25, the yatra will enter West Bengal after spending two more days in Assam.Gandhi’s yatra initially arrived in Assam on January 18, but it spent two days travelling through Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh before returning to Assam on Tuesday.
The yatra, which takes place a year after the Bharat Jodo Yatra, is the Congress’s final significant public outreach initiative before this year’s general elections and will mostly be conducted by bus. The itinerary, which ends in Mumbai on March 20, will pass through 15 states and cover 100 Lok Sabha seats and 337 assembly seats.
