Guwahati,(Aryavarth) Around 50 per cent of the Covid vaccination centres have been shut down in Assam and the BJP leaders are doing politics, making derogatory statements against the Opposition party, Assam Congress President Ripun Bora said on Wednesday criticising BJP president J.P. Nadda.
Bora, a Rajya Sabha member, has strongly condemned the statement of Nadda that the Congress party leaders are ‘political tourists’ and said that such a denigrating statement against an Opposition party is not expected by a senior leader.
While addressing Assam BJP state executive meeting virtually from Delhi on Tuesday, terming Congress leaders as “political tourists”, Nadda said that during election time some Congress leaders are visible but after the vote every one shutting their camps went home.
“Several Congress leaders went into quarantine and isolation with some in the ICU while lakhs of BJP functionaries and workers have been risking their lives while dealing with the Covid pandemic for the well being and safety of the people,” the BJP president said.
Bora said 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 “political tourist”? Nadda should brush up on his history,” he said.
The Congress leader in a statement said that just because the party (Congress) 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 West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu that BJP has become ‘political tourists’?”, Bora asked as he questioned where were the BJP leaders when Assam was ravaged by floods in 2017 and 2018.
He said that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi could make 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. The Assam Congress chief said that 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 Modi that the people of Assam are suffering due to lack of vaccines.
“Very recently police had to resort to lathi charge in Covid Centres as people became restive due to lack of vaccines,” he said.
Bora asked 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.