Rahul supporters clash with cops in Guwahati, Himanta orders FIR

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra to pass through Guwahati bypass after permission was denied to proceed through Guwahati routes.

Guwahati simmered on January 23 after a scuffle broke out when the police blocked supporters of Rahul Gandhi from entering the city and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asked to register a case against the Congress leader.

The clash erupted after Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra was denied the permission by the government to enter the city and use National Highway 27, citing the chances of traffic snarl in the arterial roads on a working day.

Reacting to a video of Congress workers breaking the barricade, Sarma wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “These are not part of Assamese culture. We are a peaceful state. Such “naxalite tactics” are completely alien to our culture. I have instructed @DGPAssamPolice to register a case against your leader @RahulGandhi for provoking the crowd & use the footage you have posted on your handles as the evidence. Your unruly behaviour and violation of agreed guidelines have resulted in a massive traffic jam in Guwahati now.”

Rahul Gandhi later addressed his supporters on the outskirts of the city. "We have broken barricades, but will not break the law," he said. He said that BJP president JP Nadda took the same route, but his people were not allowed. "They have cancelled my programme at the university. My programme was cancelled, but the students heard me outside," he said.

"Congress workers do not fear anyone," he said, "We will defeat the BJP in Assam and form the Congress government soon." He also lauded the police for doing their job well.

Leaders of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee accused the ruling BJP government of creating roadblocks in Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, and they were forced to change their route.

“Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra has been stopped in Assam by putting up barricades. Scared by the loud voice of the yatra, the Assam government is not desisting from such cowardly and shameful acts. The BJP should not forget that this is the voice of the people; it cannot be crushed and suppressed at any cost. These thorns in our path are increasing our courage and making us stronger,” the Congress said in a statement.

The confrontation flared up a day after the Gandhi scion was denied the permission to visit the shrine of the 15th-century social reformer Srimanta Sankardeva in Nagaon district, citing the law and order situation. The former Congress president had questioned whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi could decide who could visit temples.

“I urge Rahul Gandhi not to create a notion that there is a competition between Ram Temple and Batadrava Satra because the TV channels will be flashing Ram Temple Pran Pratishtha ceremony on one side and him visiting Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva's birthplace on the other side. This won't be good for Assam,” NDTV quoted him as saying.