Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday that he is okay with people like Himanta and Milind leaving the Congress. Speaking with the Digital Media warriors in West Bengal during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra, Rahul was asked about the 'collapse' of the Congress and about Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was with the Congress.
"I want people like Himanta and Milind to leave. I am perfectly okay with it. Himanta represents a particular type of politics that is not Congress' politics. Have you seen some of the statements Himanta makes about Muslims? There are certain values that I would like to defend," Rahul Gandhi said during the interaction.
The tussle between Rahul and Assam CM Himanta Sarma intensified when Congress' Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra passed through Assam. Sarma has also accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to incite unrest in Assam on January 22 while Rahul called Himanta the 'most corrupt CM' of India.
Milind Deora, who is a veteran leader of Maharashtra also left the party and joined the Shiv Sena faction of Eknath Shinde. The statement of Rahul comes at a time when the Maharashtra Congress may get another setback with the speculated exit of Baba Siddique.
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is in Bengal today and is scheduled to enter Jharkhand today itself. Earlier in the day, the Birbhum district police denied rally on Friday and cautioned of strong police action if the same was organised. The rally in Murshidabad district, also scheduled on Friday, has been denied police permission on the same grounds. These rallies were supposed to be the last event under the Bharat Jodi Byay Yatra in the state after which it was scheduled to enter neighbouring Jharkhand.
State Congress president in West Bengal and the five-time Congress Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the Nyay Yatra rally would not have hampered the examination process or caused disturbance for the examinees under any circumstance.
"The examinations are supposed to start from 9.45 a.m. and continue till 1 p.m. Our rally would have started after the beginning of the examination and would have left before its end. Rahul Gandhi is supposed to be in West Bengal on Friday for just two to three hours, before proceeding towards Jharkhand. Still the permission was denied," Chowdhury said.
(With input from agencies)