Himanta would have been nowhere without Congress: Jairam Ramesh

April 13, 2024 14:09

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma "would have been nowhere" without the grand old party which had given him "identity and position" during its rule in the state.

The Congress general secretary, in an interview with PTI in Guwahati, claimed that Sarma was among the first to quit the grand old party when it lost power and join the "washing machine of BJP".

"The Congress gave him identity and position, along with authority and responsibility, during the tenure of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi but he chose to betray the party when it was not in power. It is a matter of great sorrow that those given a responsible position turn out to be opportunists. But that has not shattered our self-confidence," he said.

"Opportunists" leaving the Congress actually work in the party's favour, making way for ideologically committed youngsters, the Rajya Sabha MP said.

Terming Sarma's claim that Congressmen are quitting the party in hordes to join the BJP a "psychological game", Ramesh said the party's state unit chief Bhupen Kumar Borah has given him a "reply in the strongest possible language".

Borah has filed a defamation case against Sarma for claiming that he would join the BJP soon.

Ramesh claimed that if the Congress returns to power at the Centre, "all regional parties and so-called regional satraps will return to our fold".

"I can assure you that there will be a reverse migration '" whether in Assam, Nagaland or Manipur. They will all return once the Congress-led INDIA government comes to power in Delhi," he claimed. -- PTI

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