Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday poked fun at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for being a “contender” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sharing a video clip from a press conference where Gandhi’s senior party colleague Jairam Ramesh had to prompt the former Congress president over a misstatement, while on the mic.
Terming Jairam Ramesh as the Congress “Chief Saboteur”, Sarma took potshots at Rahul Gandhi saying he felt “sorry” for anyone who believed that he could challenge the prime minister.
“I feel nothing but sorry for the so called secularists and leftists who harbour high hopes, expecting this man to defeat Hon PM @narendramodi ji and become PM,” read Sarma’s tweet. “And Jairam seems to be playing the role of Chief Saboteur. Tutoring with mic on … strange,” he added, sharing a 26-second video clip from a Congress presser.
Gandhi was speaking to the media and ended his statement with “Unfortunately, I am a member of parliament”. Ramesh was quick to point out that he could be made fun of for the statement. “They could make a joke…” Ramesh was heard telling Gandhi while the mic was on.
Rahul then corrected himself and said, “Unfortunately for you, I’m a member of Parliament…”.
Sarma’s snarky remark comes amid an uproar in the Parliament as the Opposition demanded a discussion and joint parliamentary committee to probe the Adani issue, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded an apology from Gandhi for his "democracy-under-threat" remarks made at Cambridge recently.
Meanwhile, Congress leader KC Venugopal moved a motion of privilege against PM Modi in Rajya Sabha for his alleged defamatory remarks made against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi during his speech in the last Parliament session.
With no end to sloganeering and shouting, both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till Monday.
