Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party of politicizing derogatory remarks made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Darbhanga, Bihar, instead of apologizing. Speaking at a press conference, Sarma criticized the Congress for alleging that the accused, Mohammad Rizvi alias Raja, arrested for using a Hindi expletive against Modi and his late mother on August 27, was a BJP worker from Madhya Pradesh. “Far from apologizing, they’re giving it a political color,” Sarma said, noting that the authenticity of the viral video remains unverified by PTI.

The incident, which occurred after Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav left the Darbhanga stage for Muzaffarpur, sparked a political firestorm. The BJP, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, condemned the remarks as “deplorable” and a “stain on democracy,” demanding an apology from Gandhi. Local Congress leader Mohd Naushad, aspiring for a Jale assembly ticket, apologized, claiming a minor made the remark and was disciplined, but Congress leader Pawan Khera alleged BJP agents staged the incident to derail the yatra.

Sarma, a former Congress leader who joined the BJP in 2015, claimed the Congress cannot accept a non-Gandhi family member as Prime Minister, citing Modi’s 11-year tenure elevating India globally. He accused Congress of a “feudal mentality” and referenced Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani’s claim of advising Sonia Gandhi against giving Sarma a Congress ticket due to his “RSS mindset.” Sarma alleged Madani’s influence in Congress ticket distribution forced his exit, adding, “Forces like him are trying to make Assam an Islamic fundamentalist state.” He defended Assam’s eviction drives, criticized by Madani, as targeting illegal encroachments, not Muslims specifically.

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The Voter Adhikar Yatra, a 1,300-km march across 20 Bihar districts, protests alleged voter list manipulations through the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with Gandhi accusing the BJP of “vote chori.” Social media reflects polarized sentiments, with Congress alleging BJP-orchestrated attacks on their Patna office, while BJP leaders like Ravi Shankar Prasad claim Bihar’s voters will punish the INDIA bloc in the upcoming assembly polls.

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