 "Rahul Gandhi")
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that the BJP and RSS support the idea of governing the country from Delhi. The Congress, on the other hand, supports local governance and lays equal importance on all states and regions, he added.
Speaking at a public gathering at Gogamukh in Assam's Lakhimpur district on the second day of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state, Gandhi said his party does not favour the Centre being the sole deciding power.
"The BJP and RSS believe that Hindustan should be governed from Delhi, with one language and one leader. We disagree. Assam will not be governed from Delhi; it will be governed from Assam," he said.
Emphasising that the Congress values all states equally, Gandhi said that is why he initiated this march from Manipur in the east to Mumbai in the west.
"We chose Manipur because we wanted to send out the message to everyone that the Northeastern states are as important as other states. It is as important to conserve their history, language and culture as of any other place," he said.
He took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Manipur even as the state continues to be rocked by ethnic strife since May last year.
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"For the first time in history of India, a civil war-like situation is prevailing in a state. There has been violence since months, hatred is being spread, people are being killed, property burnt.
"But the PM has not visited the state even for a single time. He cannot go there as it will expose the political reality of the BJP," he claimed.
For the second day in a row, Gandhi criticised Himanta Biswa Sarma and termed him the 'most corrupt' CM.
"The CM of Assam is so corrupt that he can give lessons to his counterparts of other BJP-led ruled states on how to commit corruption," he added.
He said during his interactions with the youth in the state, they lamented lack of employment opportunities in spite of being well-educated.
Blaming BJP for the unemployment, Gandhi said, "The government works only for 2-3 millionaires. In Delhi, it works for Adani ji and in Assam, even that is not needed. The CM's family is here for all the corruption. The CM has taught everyone how to do it," the Congress leader claimed.
Gandhi ended the day's journey at Gogamukh, from where it will proceed to bordering Arunachal Pradesh the next day and return to Assam on Sunday.
The second day's journey had started with a ferry ride of the Yatra entourage over the Brahmaputra from Nimatighat in Jorhat district to Majuli, the island-district.
The march reached Gogamukh by road, with the convoy halting at different places as Gandhi waved and interacted with people who lined up the route.
