‘Will Sanatanis ever vote for him?’ Himanta Sarma questions Rahul Gandhi's stance on Ram temple, Article 370

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on November 4 questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's political positions on the Ram temple, the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the abrogation of Article 370, arguing that these issues would continue to hurt the Congress electorally.

Speaking during the BJP's 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' padyatra in Bihar's Purnea, Sarma alleged that Gandhi had failed to understand the political preferences of voters and accused him of repeatedly blaming Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and electoral roll revisions following election defeats.

"Rahul Gandhi did not go to Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, and did not support the Uniform Civil Code and abrogation of Article 370. Will Sanatanis ever vote for him? As long as there is Sanatan in India, no one can defeat BJP and Narendra Modi," Sarma said.

The Assam chief minister also alleged that Gandhi would have built "Babri mosques all over India" if he had the opportunity, contrasting the Congress leader's politics with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's role in the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Turning his criticism towards Gandhi's repeated allegations of 'vote chori', Sarma said the Congress leader was unable to accept electoral defeats and continued to question the electoral process.

He described Gandhi as a "model of a defeated politician" and claimed that the Congress leader had repeatedly raised concerns about EVMs and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls after losing elections.

Sarma also challenged Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to resign from Parliament if they believed that elections were being manipulated, pointing out that both had secured their seats through the same electoral system.

On the SIR exercise, Sarma claimed that names of "Baburs and Aurangzebs" had been removed from electoral rolls and argued that the process should go beyond deleting names, adding that alleged illegal immigrants should be expelled from the country.

He also took a dig at Gandhi's attempts to mobilise young voters, saying the 57-year-old Congress leader could no longer claim to represent the youth and was only three years away from becoming a senior citizen.

Referring to the Congress's recently organised mock Parliament, Sarma said Gandhi could become prime minister in a mock Parliament held at party president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence, but Modi would continue to lead the government in the actual Parliament.

The BJP's padyatra was organised as part of its nationwide campaign against opposition allegations of electoral irregularities and discrepancies in the SIR exercise. Bihar ministers Dilip Jaiswal and Ratnesh Sada, along with other NDA leaders, were also present.