Days after trading fire with Rahul Gandhi over his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra's' Assam leg, state chief minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma has launched a fresh attack on the Congress leader, this time, over "biscuit".
Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi is currently on his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', which began in Manipur on January 14 and is currently in its Jharkhand leg.
The Yatra will conclude in Mumbai on March 20 after travelling 6,713 km in 67 days, passing through 110 districts in 15 states.
A video of Rahul Gandhi Yatra in Jharkhand has gone viral, showing him petting a puppy and offering it a biscuit. As the puppy turns away, Gandhi can be seen handing the biscuit to a supporter addressing him amid the crowd.
Reacting to a post on X that claimed Rahul Gandhi once made Himanta Biswa Sarma also eat biscuits from the same plate as his pet dog, the Assam CM said the entire Gandhi family could not do so back when he was part of the Congress.
An infamous meeting with Rahul Gandhi in 2015, when Himanta Biswa Sarma was still a member of the Congress party, is said to have driven the current Assam CM to resign from the party. Himanta Biswa Sarma had alleged that he was offered biscuits from the same plate as Rahul Gandhi's pet dog "Pidi."
It is said that Himanta Biswa Sarma, still a member of the Congress party at the time, met with Rahul Gandhi to address Assam's difficulties in the run-up to the 2015 Assam assembly elections.
"How shameless... First, Rahul Gandhi made @himantabiswa ji eat biscuits ?? from same plate as his pet dog ?? Pidi... Then Congress President Khargeji compares party workers to dogs ?? & now, Shehzada gives a biscuit ?? rejected by a dog ?? to a party worker... This is the RESPECT they have for their party workers, supporters & voters?" the post Himanta Biswa Sarma replied to read.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma replied saying, "Pallavi ji, not only Rahul Gandhi but the entire family could not make me eat that biscuit. I am a proud Assamese and Indian . I refused to eat and resign from the Congress.
In several interviews post quitting Congress, Himanta Biswa Sarma had claimed that Rahul Gandhi was not serious about key party issues.
"But during the meeting, I have seen that Rahul is not very interested in the meeting from the very beginning. He was playing with the dog.. anyway, at some point of time, we were served with tea and biscuits, the dog went up to the table and pick up one biscuit from the plate, So Rahul looked at me and started smiling and so I was thinking that why is he smiling, I waited with my cup thinking that Rahul will push the calling bell and ask someone change the plate," the Assam CM was quoted as saying in a sentinelassam report.
Addressing the controversy over him feeding a dog, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he gave the biscuit to the dog parent and the dog ate it from his hand. "What's the issue with it," Rahul Gandhi asked.
"...I called the dog and the owner. The dog was nervous, shivering and when I tried to feed it, the dog got scared. So I gave biscuits to the dog's owner and the dog ate them from his hand. I don't understand what's the issue with it."
On being asked about BJP's allegations that the man was a Congress worker, Rahul Gandhi said, "No, where was he a Congress worker. I don't understand BJP's obsession with dogs."
