Arriving in Assam capital town amid a bandh and stray incidents, AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that his party would support a law to protect every citizen from harassment anywhere in the country.
Rahul Gandhi said this while expressing concern over the recent harassment of a student from Arunachal Pradesh at New Delhi and added that students from Assam and North-East must feel that there is not a single place anywhere in the country that they cannot call home. The AICC vice-president said this while addressing a massive rally in Guwahati on Tuesday. Gandhi arrived in Guwahati around 10 am braving a 12-hour bandh called by several organisations across the State in protest against the State Government’s failure to check the self-immolation bid of a person in Guwahati on Monday.
“I see lots of young people from Assam and North-East in Delhi. They have earned a reputation as hard working people. I feel pain when I see ill-behaviour being meted out to them,” Rahul said while adding that his party would support a law that prevent such attacks on Indians. Gandhi also expressed his condolence regarding the incident of self-immolation by a youth on Monday. “I have told Gogoiji to help the family completely,” he said.
The young leader also took up the issues of development and women empowerment and said that without giving power to women, India cannot become a superpower. “I want to see substantial number of women in our lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and other institutions,” he said. Gandhi also highlighted the achievements of the UPA Government and said that in the last two terms of the UPA at the Centre had taken out 15 crore people above the Below Poverty line (BPl). “It’s not an easy task. Now our target is to bring about 70 crore people —who are currently above BPl mark but below the middle class mark—to middle class,” he said.
This is our aim, we are going to fight for all—the poor, the tea labourers, adivasis and all,” he said. Rahul Gandhi also referred to the law and order situation in Assam and said, “There has been peace in Assam at present. But there were fear and insecurity for people, particularly for women in Assam. When the Congress party came to the power, it gave power to the people and that is why today there is peace here.”
He also took a dig at the regional political party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in Assam and the BJP led NDA Government at the Centre and said that the amount these two parties have looted during their tenure, no one can loot in next 50 years. The ruling Congress in Assam, however, had to work hard on the face of the 12-hour Guwahati bandh called by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) to bring in more people to the rally. Several organizations supported the bandh called by the KMSS from Tuesday morning and pelted with stones at vehicle ferrying people for the Rahul Gandhi’s rally.
At many places, the bandh supporters burnt tyres and blocked the highways to prevent the vehicles from ferrying people to the venue of the Rahul Gandhi’s rally. Many of the vehicles ferrying people for the rally also got partially damaged.