Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on September 19. The two clashed over the arrest of Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the Nandigram bypoll. Police apprehended Pradhan based on four pending warrants for non-bailable offenses, including murder, attempted murder, abduction, and rioting with deadly weapons. These charges stem from the 2007 anti-land acquisition protests in Nandigram.
Sarma mocked Gandhi's fluctuating appearance while questioning his defense of a candidate with such a criminal history. "Rahul Gandhi is a mad person; sometimes you see him with a beard, sometimes clean-shaven," Sarma told reporters at Madhupur Sattra in Cooch Behar. He insisted that the arrest was standard police duty, not a political act. State officials noted that Pradhan had been dodging arrest for years.
The arrest sparked a firestorm. Gandhi labeled the move a "murder of democracy" and claimed the state is targeting the Opposition. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee backed this sentiment, questioning why authorities revived the case immediately after her Trinamool Congress pledged support for the Congress candidate. Banerjee accused the BJP of using old legal files as a weapon of intimidation. The BJP denied these claims, sticking to its stance that the arrest follows legal procedure regardless of the election calendar.
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