Guwahati, Feb 12: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has upped his ante against the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by calling him ‘modern Jinnah’, after the ‘father’s son’ barb in an Uttarakhand rally that saw furious objection and protest from the Congress party.

Talking to the press on the sidelines of an event at Guwahati in Assam on Saturday, Sarma called, “For Rahul Gandhi it seems India comprises from Gujarat to West Bengal. For last ten days, I am seeing the type of things Rahul Gandhi has been saying like once he says India is an Union of States, another time he says India means from Gujarat to Bengal. So I am saying the ghost of Jinnah has entered into Rahul Gandhi. I said this in Uttarakhand. Whatever language and rhetoric Jinnah used to use before 1947 now Rahul Gandhi uses. In a way Rahul Gandhi is modern day Jinnah.”

Himanta explains reason behind ‘father’s son’ remark

Also explaining the reasoning behind his ‘father’s son’ remark, he said his aim to question Rahul’s antecedents was to stop the Congress from continuously seeking proof of the surgical strike in Pakistan by the Indian Army.

In a poll rally in Uttarakhand on Friday, the Assam Chief Minister had targeted Rahul Gandhi for asking proof for the surgical strike inside Pakistan. “Have we ever asked you if you are really Rajiv Gandhi’s son or not?” he had questioned.

“Our army jawans plan for a month before they go for any action in the enemy territory. These are strategic actions and after action takes place press release is issued then we get to know, now if someone keeps asking proof of the action, think about the pain the army jawans feel when such proof is asked for. Therefore, yesterday I had tried to show Congress its ‘Karma’… and I think everyone has seen it. From what I can make out of the numerous attacks they are doing on me… on Twitter… but my mission is accomplished so from here on they will not ask for proof from Army, therefore I had said like that yesterday,” Sarma said on Saturday at Guwahati.

The remark at the Uttarakhand poll tally was vehemently opposed by Assam unit of the Congress. Congress claimed that by his controversial statement Sarma has ‘tarnished’ the image of Assam.