Rahul Gandhi takes advice from Arabic speaking people: Himanta

If they want to saveAssam, let them take a stand against immigrant Muslims and saythat they will protect Assamese culture, Sarma said.To a question on the frequent visits of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP presidentJP Nadda to Assam, Sarma said that the Congress should notfeel bad if the saffron party leaders meet the people of thestate.During the time of Congress, it had a culture of notmeeting people.

Senior Assam minister HimantaBiswa Sarma on Sunday claimed that Congress leader RahulGandhi takes advice from ''Arabic speaking people'', apparentlyhinting at AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, and that is why hisfirst election rally in the state was ''wasted''.

The Congress has teamed up with the All India UnitedDemocratic Front (AIUDF) and four other political parties toform a Grand Alliance against the ruling BJP for the assemblyelection in the state due in March-April.

Sarma, the convenor of the North East DemocraticAlliance (NEDA), the regional arm of NDA, also dared theCongress to take a stand against illegal Muslim immigrants.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an officialfunction in Guwahati, the BJP leader claimed that the capacityof Boarding field in Sivasagar district, where Gandhiaddressed a public rally during the day, is about 12,000-15,000 people, indicating that it was not well-attended.

A Congress spokesperson, however, asserted that over50,000 people gathered at Boarding field for the rally ofGandhi, who said that his party will protect every principleof the Assam Accord and will never implement the Citizenship(Amendment) Act if voted to power in the state.

''He (Gandhi) could have addressed the rally through avideo conference. He came by a chartered flight, then took achopper to reach the venue. The CRPF cover was there,administration people worked tirelessly for it. So, it was anexpense of around Rs 35 lakh. And I feel this money iswasted,'' Sarma said.

Sarma, who was once a close confidante of Gandhi whilebeing in the Congress, said that he would have advised the LokSabha MP to visit the Kamakhya temple and 'satras'(Vaishnavite places of worship) at Batadrava and Majuli tomeet people.

''In this way, he would have met more people than hedid in today's rally. He is a busy man and has lots ofimportant work like running the farmers' protests. He istaking advice from the Arabic speaking people and that is whythe plans have gone wrong,'' he said.

By ''Arabic speaking people'', Sarma apparently meantAjmal, the Lok Sabha member from Dhubri. His party, the AIUDF,has 14 MLAs, mostly from the minority Muslim dominated areasof Assam.

''It would have been better if he was advised byAssamese people,'' Sarma said.

On the Congress' 'Assam Bachao Ahok' bus yatracampaign across the state, the BJP leader said that theopposition party leaders are just enjoying the bus ride andmoving around places.

''They are saying 'Assam Bachao'. But from whom Assamneeds to be saved? From the immigrant Muslim people who camefrom Bangladesh and are destroying Assamese culture andidentity, Sarma alleged.

He also claimed that Congress leaders are encouragingthose illegal immigrants.

''So, how will Assam be saved? If they want to saveAssam, let them take a stand against immigrant Muslims and saythat they will protect Assamese culture,'' Sarma said.

To a question on the frequent visits of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP presidentJP Nadda to Assam, Sarma said that the Congress should notfeel bad if the saffron party leaders meet the people of thestate.

''During the time of Congress, it had a culture of notmeeting people. Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and JP Nadda havedeveloped a culture of meeting people. After all, it isdemocracy. What is wrong in this?'' he said.