Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma criticized the Congress on Saturday, alleging that their election manifesto was more suited for elections in Pakistan than in India. He claimed that the manifesto aimed at dividing society to gain power.
The Congress released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Friday, focusing on five 'pillars of justice' and 25 guarantees under those. Some promises made included legal guarantees for Minimum Support Price (MSP), a nationwide caste census, and scrapping the Agnipath scheme. Sarma accused the Congress's manifesto of being "politics of appeasement".
"This is politics of appeasement and we condemn it. The manifesto feels like it is not for elections in Bharat but for Pakistan," he told reporters during an election rally in Jorhat constituency.
Sarma asserted that no person, regardless of religion, supported the revival of triple talaq or endorsed polygamy or child marriage.
"The mentality of the Congress is to divide society and come to power," he claimed.
Expressing confidence that the BJP would secure all 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Sarma stated that the BJP had transformed into a movement to make the country a 'Vishwa guru' (world leader).
In response, the Congress countered Sarma's remarks, stating that someone who switched sides like him wouldn't understand the secular and inclusive ethos of the grand old party. Sarma had joined the BJP in 2015.
"Sarma had been in the Congress for several years, but he could not understand the main ethos of the party. That is why he went to the BJP. Even after being in the BJP for some time now, he still tries to defame Congress to prove his loyalty to the saffron party," Assam Congress spokesperson Bedabrata Bora told media.
Bora dismissed Sarma's allegations and reiterated that the party's manifesto aimed to protect the interests of all sections of society.
Assam will vote in three phases on April 19, April 26, and May 7, with vote counting scheduled for June 4.
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