Assam CM raises questions on Indira and family’s ‘Gandhi’ surname

Assam: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday slammed former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi and her family members for using Gandhi’s surname, calling them “Sardar (leader) of duplicates”.

“(Mahatma) Gandhi ji gave us independence and they grabbed the surname. All are duplicate Gandhis,” the CM said while addressing the concluding day of the two-day national executive of BJP’s Mahila Morcha.

“I researched for long by which formula Indira, Rahul, Rajiv, and Priyanka became Gandhi, but I couldn’t find it. India’s first scam was with their surname,” he claimed, adding that if some dacoit were to use the Gandhi surname, it would not make him a sage.

“My humble request to Rahul Gandhi ji, please leave your duplicate surname as it is not original,” said Sarma.

Meanwhile, Congress hit back at Sarma, asking him to focus on resolving Assam's problems before worrying about someone's surname.

Sarma, who quit the Congress in 2015 to join the BJP, also attacked Congress for using the word ‘INDIA’ as the acronym for the opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, claiming that the grand old party uses India and Bharat for its political convenience.

Sarma further accused Congress of not doing anything for the country when it was in power and claimed that it was only after Narendra Modi became the PM, that a strong sense of patriotism was being imbibed among the people.

“You (Congress) all have committed a big sin by taking the name of INDIA as you had never done anything to increase the pride of India. You only worked to increase your family’s clout and fragmented the country. You don’t have a right to call yourself India or Bharat,” he said.

Sarma also took a dig at Congress’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, stating that the party had used the word ‘Bharat’ then as Karnataka state elections were due and has now as per political convenience, moved on to use ‘India’.

He said that though ‘India’ is also used to mean the country, great saints and sages had referred to it as ‘Bharat’ and he was following their footsteps in choosing the name.

The chief minister also praised Modi for giving India its rightful place in the world and said the country was on its way to becoming a ‘Viswa Guru’ under the PM.

Reacting to Sarma’s remarks, Congress spokesperson Apurba Bhattacharyya said, “Such words are unbecoming of a chief minister. Who is he to comment on whether Rahul ji is worthy of the Gandhi surname or not? Does it concern the state’s problems in any way? How can someone’s surname be a problem for the state?”

“Along with being the CM, he also holds the Home portfolio. When the police are talking about acting tough against corruption, its SP-level officer is being arrested for misdoings. The CM should first focus on solving the state’s problems and not engage in tactics to divert public attention,” the Congress leader added.

With inputs from PTI