India’s largest opposition party, the Congress, has voiced concern to government officials after leader Rahul Gandhi’s pre-election march across the country was obstructed by police in the state of Assam, leading to violent clashes.
Gandhi is conducting a 6,500km rally, titled ‘Bharat Jodi Nyay Yatra’ (‘India Unity and Justice March’), ahead of the general election scheduled in May. The Congress is seen as the primary challenger to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, Congress president Mallikharjun Kharge said the ‘yatra’ has faced “serious issues” in the last few days, and appealed to Shah to ensure the Congress leader’s safety.
Gandhi, the son of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and ex-Congress president Sonia Gandhi, is currently afforded Z+ protection by the Indian government, the highest level of security provided to individuals who face “extremely high levels of threats.” According to the Congress leadership, Gandhi’s rally has faced pressure from the government of Assam, which is under the control of the BJP.
In his letter, Kharge highlighted instances in several districts where BJP workers obstructed the Congress march, tore up the party’s posters, and allegedly manhandled its supporters. Tensions around the rally soared on Tuesday when hundreds of Gandhi supporters were stopped from entering Guwahati, the capital of Assam, through the National Highway, leading to clashes that left several people injured.
Meanwhile, the chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has indicated that Gandhi will be “arrested” for “instigating” violence in Guwahati after the elections. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Biswa Sarma urged the state’s top police official to register a formal complaint against Gandhi and his supporters. “[Rahul Gandhi] had come with 3,000 people and 200 vehicles. How can this be allowed inside the city? They came and fought with the police”, Biswa Sarma claimed, as quoted by Zee News. He suggested that Gandhi himself “instigated” clashes from his bus.
Gandhi later responded that he would not be “intimidated” and claimed that attempts to derail the ‘yatra’ in Assam inadvertently helped the roadshow gain “more publicity.” The Congress leader started his rally, which will cross the country on bus and foot, on January 14 in Manipur in the easternmost part of India. The region has been in the headlines since May last year because of deadly ethnic clashes. It is Gandhi’s second ‘yatra’ following a five-month foot march across the country between September 2022 and January 2023, covering 4,000km.
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