Congress leader Abdul Khaleque criticises Himanta Biswa Sarma over Rahul Gandhi ‘pagal’ remark

Senior Congress leader and former MP Abdul Khaleque on September 20 criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for calling Congress MP Rahul Gandhi 'pagal' (mad).

Khaleque also hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over their statements on “Miya Muslims” and accused the party of changing its position as elections approach.

Khaleque was speaking at a press conference at the Morigaon district Congress office, where he raised several issues related to the upcoming Nagaon Assembly by-election.

He alleged that the Chief Minister and BJP leaders have repeatedly stated in public that they do not require the votes of “Miya Muslims”, but adopt a different approach during elections.

Taking a dig at BJP candidate Debasish Sharma, Khaleque claimed that the candidate was now frequently using expressions such as “Inshallah” and “Mashallah” while campaigning, which he attributed to an attempt to reach out to voters.

Khaleque also expressed confidence about the bypoll outcome and claimed that Congress candidate Sibamoni Bora would win the election by a large margin.

Later, while speaking to the media, the former MP criticised Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his reported use of the word “pagal” (mad) while referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Khaleque termed the remark undemocratic and said political differences should not be expressed through such personal remarks.