Guwahati: Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mandal on Thursday slammed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over their comparison of Opposition's INDIA alliance with East India Company and the Indian Mujahideen and said that the people of the country know who is the enemy of Bharat or India.
“The people of the country know who is the main enemy of Bharat, or India. We don’t differentiate between Bharat or India. Why is the BJP afraid of the opposition’s alliance? You (BJP) are in alliance with 38 political parties, and we are with only 26 political parties,” Abdur Rashid Mandal told ANI.
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a stinging attack on the “completely directionless” INDIA alliance of opposition parties and compared the grouping with terrorist outfits like the Indian Mujahideen and Popular Front of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at the fact that as the Britishers named themselves the East India Company and terror organisations like the Indian Mujahideen and the Indian People's Front, all of whom have ‘India’ in them, similarly the Opposition was presenting itself with the name of India.
Assam Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mandal further said that “You (PM Modi) are talking against ‘INDIA’ (opposition parties alliance name), but why is the word India used in the schemes announced by the Prime Minister, like Smart India, Khelo India, and Start-Up India? We love and respect India. As a symbol of love and respect, we, the political parties, and our leaders named the alliance INDIA – Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.”
“The people of the world know who is associated with Pulwama, the Gujarat riots, and so many massacres in India. The BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Assam Chief Minister, and the leaders are leaving power in 2024; that is why they are talking about Al-Qaeda etc.,” the Assam Congress MLA said.
Hitting out at the BJP and RSS, the Congress MLA said, Who are the followers of the East India Company of the British? Did the forefathers and founders of the BJP and RSS fight against the British?
“Were the RSS against the British? Did anybody from the India Alliance support the British? Go through the pre-independence period, go through each and every happening during the struggle for India, and you will find lots of instances. The creators of the BJP were associated with the British East India Company; none of the 26 opposition political parties were ever associated with the Britishers. The people of the country know who is the main enemy of Bharat or India,” Abdur Rashid Mandal said. (ANI)
