Assam Pradesh Congress slams JP Nadda over his political tourists remark

Ripun Bora reminded Nadda that BJP party was born in 1980 while the Congress party was born in 1885.

BJP president JP Nadda on Tuesday hit out at the opposition in Assam in the second wave of COVID-19 and said that all opposition parties were in quarantine and some in the ICU during the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

“All the opposition parties were in quarantine with some in the ICU during this pandemic situation. But the BJP members in Assam had reached out to help the people,” JP Nadda said.

Ripun Bora said, "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'?

Bora advised Nadda to brush up on his history and also said that just because Congress party lost elections in Assam one cannot pass derogatory remarks like 'political tourists' for the party. 

He questioned, "Does it also mean that wherever the BJP lost elections - in Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu that BJP has  become 'political tourists?"

Ripun Bora also questioned that where were the BJP leaders when Assam was ravaged by the floods in 2017 and 2018 ? While PM Narendra Modi could make out 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 APCC president said that Congress party is not answerable to the BJP President on what the Congress party is doing during the Covid situation. People of the state know whether the Congress members in the various districts of Assam are with them or not. But 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 PM Modi that the people of Assam are suffering due to lack of vaccines.

"Today 50% of the Covid Vaccine Centres have been shut down in Assam. Very recently police had to resort to lathi charge in Covid Centres as people became restive due to lack of vaccines," Ripun Bora said.

Bora advised 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.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)