‘Defaming India worldwide’: Amit Shah targets Rahul Gandhi over Youth Congress protest

Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

• Amit Shah slams Rahul Gandhi for Youth Congress protest
• Shah opens Rs 2,092 crore healthcare projects in Assam
• Assam's healthcare sector improved under CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Rahul Gandhi over the Indian Youth Congress’s “shirtless protest” during the AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, accusing the Congress leader of trying to malign India while opposing the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a gathering in Guwahati after unveiling healthcare projects worth Rs 2,092 crore, Shah alleged that the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha was insulting the prime minister and damaging India’s global image.

“India will not tolerate such a thing. They will never forgive you. I am sure that the protest was held through collaboration with Rahul Gandhi…He is defaming the image of the country worldwide,” Shah said.

He also criticised Gandhi over a protest outside Parliament, mocking him for allegedly sitting at the entrance and eating tea and pakodas.

“Rahul Gandhi sits at the gate of Parliament and eats tea and pakodas. He does not even know where the place for breakfast is,” Shah said. “Parliament is the biggest institution of our democracy. Even staging a protest there is not part of democratic culture, but you have gone two steps further by eating tea and pakodas there.”

The Union Home Minister said the incidents had occurred with the participation of the Congress leader and added that he did not believe young people in the country would support such forms of protest.

Shah also targeted the Indian National Congress, claiming that Assam’s healthcare system was in poor condition a decade ago under previous Congress governments.

According to Shah, during its 15-year rule in the state, the Congress government allegedly “pocketed” Rs 150 crore annually from the healthcare budget.

Praising Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Shah said Assam’s healthcare sector had now improved significantly and was approaching the standards of states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

“CM Sarma has made Assam self-sufficient in the health sector even before the end of his term. Himanta was telling me in the car today that he wants to make Assam such that not a single patient has to go outside Assam to seek treatment. We want to create a state where poor patients from Bengal and the Northeast can seek treatment,” Shah said.

During the event, Shah inaugurated the Rs 675-crore Pragjyotishpur Medical College and Hospital in Guwahati and virtually launched cancer centres at Golaghat and Tinsukia under the Assam Cancer Care Foundation, each built at a cost of Rs 135 crore.

He also virtually laid the foundation stones for super-speciality hospitals at Diphu Medical College and Hospital (Rs 220 crore), Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (Rs 310 crore) and Barpeta Medical College and Hospital (Rs 284 crore).

Additionally, Shah laid the foundation for the Rs 218-crore Swasthya Bhawan in Guwahati and the Rs 115-crore Abhayapuri District Hospital.

Shah arrived in Assam on Saturday evening for a two-day visit, during which he also held closed-door meetings with senior BJP leaders on organisational and poll-related matters.