Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi "has not visited the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya yet" as he criticised the latter for offering namaz on the occasion of Eid in Sibasagar. He said the Congress MP should have shown the same respect towards the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Temple.
Addressing reporters on Friday, Sarma noted that Gaurav Gogoi, the Congress candidate from the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat, "knows the correct posture for offering namaz... I don't know where he has learnt it from".
"The fact is that I also extended greetings on Eid, and so did Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But what I would like to point out is, why didn't Gaurav Gogoi and Akhil Gogoi show the same devotion towards the Pran Pratishta ceremony of the Ram Mandir, as they did during the Eid prayers?" he queried.
"On the day of Pran Pratishta, Gaurav Gogoi was breaking the law and protesting in the streets of Nagaon with Rahul Gandhi," he said, referring to Rahul Gandhi's sit-in protest in Nagaon on January 22 after being denied entry to the Batadrava Than, the birthplace of Assamese saint and social reformer Srimanta Sankardev
"The respect towards Eid, should be the same towards the Ram Mandir also. You (Gaurav Gogoi) still haven't visited the Ram Mandir... We have so many other festivals in Assam, but we don't see his devotion there. We think that the problems of the Muslim community in Assam cannot be resolved by appeasement politics. If this is not the politics of appeasement, then what is it?"
"They (Muslims) will have to get government jobs, education, move forward in society. Gaurav Gogoi committed a grave sin by not participating in the Pran Pratishtha event but rather siding with Rahul Gandhi in Nagaon for a protest. On one hand, he is seen offering namaz, while on the other hand, he protested on the day of the Ram Temple inauguration," the Chief Minister added.
Sarma said that these kinds of people can only resort to "appeasement politics".
"They love no one, no Hindus, no Muslims and no Christians. Being a Hindu, Gaurav Gogoi should have just prayed on the day of the Pran Pratishtha or could have just watched the livestreaming of the event sitting at home. But he instead chose to side with Rahul Gandhi in Nagaon."
In response to Sarma's remarks, Gaurav Gogoi told ANI news agency that they had planned to visit the Batadrava Than, or Bordowa Than, a temple complex which is the birthplace of the great Assamese saint and social reformer Srimanta Sankardev.
"Himanta Biswa Sarma insulted the Batadrava Than. He insulted the principles of Srimanta Sankardev. We sat on a dharna because we respect Srimanta Sankardev," the Congress MP added.
On January 22, Rahul Gandhi, along with other Congress workers, staged the sit-in protest in Nagaon, after he alleged that he was not allowed to visit Batadrava Than.
