Barpeta Satra office-bearers were 'adamant': Assam govt

The Assam government today said that the office-bearers of the 'Barpeta Satra', a Vaishnavite monastery where BJP Vice-President Rahul Gandhi was allegedly not allowed entry, were "adamant" on not giving passage to the Gandhi scion.
"Despite prolonged persuasion by the district administration, the office-bearers of the Barpeta Satra remained adamant on their stand not to allow MP Rahul Gandhi into the Satra premises, thus sparking a needless controversy," a government press release today said.
The statement said that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had rung up the Barpeta Deputy Commissioner on the evening of December 10 regarding Gandhi's visit to the Satra.

"The Deputy Commissioner called the Burha Satriya of the Satra to discuss the matter. The Burha Satriya informed the Deputy Commissioner that as he was in a period of confinement (due to birth of his grand-daughter), he was not presently involved in the day-to-day affairs of the Satra," it added.
Accordingly, a meeting was convened by the Deputy Commissioner in her office chamber and it was attended by several office-bearers of the Barpeta Satra Parichalana Samiti.
"The meeting discussed threadbare the visit of MP Rahul Gandhi to the Satra," the statement said.

Gogoi and the Congress have been maintaining that Gandhi was prevented from entering the Satra by the RSS and BJP who stationed some women at the gate on the morning on the day of his padyatra on December 12.

Gandhi entered the Satra only after concluding his padyatra in the town.
The BJP has, however, denied the allegation and stated that Gandhi was late in arriving at Barpeta and so skipped the Satra programme.