GUWAHATI: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has condemned the statement of BJP national president JP Nadda that Congress leaders are “political tourists”.
At a virtual state executive meeting on Tuesday, Nadda lashed out at Congress and other opposition leaders saying these “political tourists” are not to be seen anywhere in the raging second wave of Covid-19 in the state. APCC president Ripun Bora questioned Nadda, “Does it also mean that wherever the BJP has lost elections, in Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, BJP leaders have become 'political tourists’?
Bora said Congress is not answerable to the BJP president. “People know whether the Congress is with them or not. People also know that the BJP government at the Centre, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is responsible for the sufferings of the people. There are no vaccines. The government’s faulty policy on Covid-19 has led to this crisis,” he said.
Over half of the Covid vaccine centres have been shut down in Assam, he said. “Very recently, the police had to resort to lathi-charge at these centres as people had started agitating,” he added.
He reminded Nadda that BJP was floated in 1980 while the Congress was born in 1885. "How can a party which has been in existence for 136 years, brought freedom for its people from British domination, ruled the country and contributed towards nation-building be termed 'political tourist'?" he asked. Opposition AIUDF also criticized Nadda, saying Badruddin Ajmal's party has been most proactive since the first wave of Covid-19.
