Ripun Bora slams BJP president JP Nadda for terming Congress as 'political tourists'

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) has hit back at BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) president JP Nadda for terming the Congress as 'political tourists'.

Condemning Nadda's statement, APCC president Ripun Bora said, "Such a denigrating statement is not expected by such a senior leader and president of the BJP."

Bora underlined that the BJP was born in 1980 while the Congress party was born in 1885.

"How can a party that has been in existence for 136 years, that brought freedom for its people from British domination and that ruled India and contributed towards nation building be termed as a political tourist?" Bora questioned.

Further, he advised Nadda to 'brush up' on his history and said that just because the Congress party lost elections in Assam one cannot pass derogatory remarks like 'political tourists' for the party.

"Does it also mean that wherever the BJP lost elections - in Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu that BJP has become political tourists?" said Bora.

He also questioned that where were the BJP leaders when Assam was ravaged by the floods in 2017 and 2018?

"While PM Narendra Modi could make out time to come to Assam umpteenth times for election campaigns why couldn't he find time to be near the people of the State during the floods?" Bora stressed.

He said that Congress is not answerable to the BJP president on what the Congress party is doing during the COVID situation.

"People of the State know whether the Congress members in the various districts of Assam are with them or not. But the people of the State also know that it is due to the faulty COVID policy of the BJP government at the Centre led by PM Modi that the people of Assam are suffering due to lack of vaccines," said Bora.

He pointed out that today, 50 per cent of the COVID Vaccine Centres have been shut down in Assam.

"Very recently police had to resort to lathi-charge in COVID Centres as people became restive due to lack of vaccines," Bora underlined. Lastly, he advised Nadda that instead of discussing the Congress party in his virtual meetings with his party members he should ensure the safety of the people of Assam from COVID by facilitating the quick availability of vaccines as the longer the delay the greater is the threat to people's lives.

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