Jorhat (Assam) [India], April 2 : Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday reiterated his allegations of Donald Trump controlling Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that the US president holds the latter's future in his hands. He also said that the way Trump controls PM Modi, the latter controls Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Addressing a public rally here, Gandhi said, "Donald Trump gives orders to Modi, and Modi says nothing - because he knows Trump holds his (Modi) future in his hands. Donald Trump controls Narendra Modi. If Trump tells Modi to jump, Narendra Modi will ask how long and will start jumping. This is because Trump holds the controls over Narendra Modi."
He alleged that PM Modi has a similar sway over the Assam CM as he's aware of Sarma's "corruption and crimes".
"The way Trump controls Modi, similarly, Modi controls your CM. Modi is aware of your CM's corruption and crimes. And he can make your CM do whatever he wants," the Congress leader said.
Rahul Gandhi also accused the Assam CM of spreading "hatred and intimidating the people" ahead of the assembly elections, adding that the CM is acting against the state's culture, which has always believed in uniting people and treating them with respect.
"Assam is the land of luminaries such as Shankar Dev, Bhupen Hazarika, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Tarun Gogoi, and Zubeen Garg. The very soul of Assam resided within all of them. They all articulated a single message: we must unite people, eradicate hatred, and spread love. This ethos runs deep in Assam. Uniting people and treating them with respect is deeply ingrained in the very soul of the state. However, today, the Chief Minister of Assam is spreading hatred and intimidating the people. This is not Assam's culture," Gandhi said.
The polling for all 126 Assembly constituencies in Assam will be held in a single phase on April 9, while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
Assam will witness a fight between the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and Congress for the 126-seat assembly.