Assam CM Recollects Infamous Meeting with RaGa Involving his Pet Dog 'Pidi' which Led Sarma to Quit Congress

Himanta Biswa Sarma, the new Chief Minister of Assam, remarked in an interview with Indian Express that he is thankful to Congress "prince" Rahul Gandhi for neglecting him and shunting him out of the Congress party, an insult that drove him to leave Congress and become Chief Minister of Assam. 

"I am grateful to Rahul Gandhi. I would not have become the Chief Minister of Assam and served the state, had he not shunted me out of the Congress party. So, if I am today in this position, that also because of its famous meeting and also because of the fact that Rahul Gandhi did not appreciate I being in the Congress party," said the Assam CM while speaking to the Indian Express. 

When asked to recount the events that caused him to sever ties with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, Sarma stated that he would be a happy person if he could speak to someone about the entire episode. 

Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was 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 2016 Assam assembly elections.

He said that several significant personalities, including Ahmed Patel, Mallikarjun Khadge, and Gulam Nabi Azad, were always present with Mrs. Sonia Gandhi during her meetings. 

"At some point of time I resigned, Mrs Gandhi advised me to meet with Rahul. I met him once, that meeting was also very very disgusting but I did not made it public."

 "Whenever I raised a concern, Mr Gandhi replied 'So what?," said the Assam BJP supremo when asked what disgusted him. 

He purported to have heard the phrase "So what?" fifty times during the 20-minute meeting. 

Assam's Chief Minister remembered his infamous meeting with Rahul Gandhi, during which the Gandhi scion was engrossed with his beloved dog 'Pidi.' 

The Congress VP, on the other hand, was preoccupied with his canine companion and had given little attention to regional leaders from the North-Eastern state. After a lengthy period of inaction, an enraged Himanta Biswa Sarma left the party and joined the BJP, assisting the party in seizing power in Assam for the first time in history. 

"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," recalled the Assam CM.

He stated that after waiting 5 minutes, he noticed that all of the leaders present began grabbing biscuits from the same dish. 

Himanta Biswa Sharma, recalling the meeting, also highlighted how Congress leaders had become accustomed to such humiliations at the hands of the Gandhi-Parivar.

"I was not a frequent visitor but then I realized that this must be a normal for everybody, happens in all the meetings, so that day I realized, look enough is enough and you[Sarma] cannot stay with that person anymore."

"Had it not been he [Rahul] who has hunted me out literally from the Congress party, so if today I am in this position, that also because of that famous meeting and also the that Rahul did not appreciate the fact, I [Sarma] being in the party," remarked Himanta Biswa Sarma in a sarcastic overtone. 

In an interview, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommended him to use an idea similar to the "Zero Hour" at cabinet sessions in order to learn about critical criticism about the administration. 

"In the Cabinet, ministers will compile all the negative feedback (collected from MLAs) and give it to a senior minister. Then I will join the Cabinet, and the senior minister will explain only the negative feedback about the government so that we can immediately take remedial action," Sarma said.

"Modiji said he did it in Gujarat, so I should start that practice in Assam. He said, "Achcha bolne wala toh tumko bahut milega, lekin burai suno, tabhi you will be able to rectify", he said.

"He listens to negative feedback, he rather encourages it," Sarma added. 

Upon assuming the chief minister's office, Himanta Biswa Sarma met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time on Wednesday. 

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