Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has stated that he will soon reveal the name and address of the "body double" allegedly utilized by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state.
Earlier, at a press conference on Thursday, Sarma brought up the allegation that the Congress MP used a "body double" during the Yatra, citing a media report alleging that the person sitting and waving at people from the Yatra bus was "probably not Rahul Gandhi at all".
"I'm not simply saying things. I will provide the name of the duplicate as well as how it was done, Just wait a few days,” said the chief minister when asked about the charge against Gandhi by reporters on the sidelines of a function in Sonitpur district on Saturday.
"I'll be in Dibrugarh tomorrow (Sunday), and I'll be leaving Guwahati the next day. Once I return to Guwahati, I will provide the name and address of the duplicate," he stated.
The Manipur-Maharashtra Nyay Yatra, being led by Gandhi, had travelled through Assam from January 18 to 25, during which the Congress MP had alleged that Sarma was the "most corrupt CM of India".
The opposition party also alleged denial or problems in route permissions through the state by the BJP-led government. The situation reached a flashpoint when Congress leaders and workers broke police barricades erected to prevent them from entering the main city limits of Guwahati.
An FIR was registered against Gandhi and others over the incident, with Sarma later stating that they would be arrested after the Lok Sabha polls as he did not want to "politicise" the issue prior to the elections.
Sarma maintained that the Congress will need "all the Gandhis" -- Sonia, Priyanka and Rahul - to defeat him in the state.
"Let them bring Priyanka Gandhi's son also," he said.
"They have already put up their hands (in surrender). They couldn't do it through Rahul, so they will now get Priyanka and then Sonia," Sarma said, referring to the Congress' proposed programme in the state involving Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
On BJP and its allies' Lok Sabha poll prospects in the state, the CM said, "We have 11-and-a-half assured seats. We are working on how to convert it into 12. We are not bothered about any Congress list (of candidates)."
There are 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Of those, nine are currently held by the BJP, three by Congress, one by AIUDF and one Independent.
