Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, campaigned for the Congress and its allies in Assam on Thursday, April 2, addressing public rallies in Karbi Anglong and Jorhat as he sounded the bugle for the upcoming Assembly elections. He contrasted what he called the BJP’s “Delhi-centric” governance with Congress’s pledge for decentralisation, and placed indigenous rights and local autonomy at the centre of his appeal.
Speaking at Bokajan in Karbi Anglong, Rahul Gandhi called for implementation of Article 244(A) of the Constitution, saying the provision “empowers people to make decisions for themselves.” He told the crowd, “Karbi Anglong should not be governed from Guwahati or Delhi, but by its own leaders and councils,” and promised full implementation of Article 244(A) if Congress comes to power.
Accusing the present government of surrendering land and resources to corporates, he vowed that governance would be local: “You will not be run by remote control as now — you will have control over your own rights. Governance will be from here, not from Guwahati,” he asserted, recalling his commitment from the Bharat Jodo Yatra and saying he follows through on his promises.
Rahul’s tour follows intensive campaigning by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Priyanka Gandhi. At rallies in Titabor and Bokajan he announced five guarantees for the people and underlined the Congress message that it “delivers on what it promises.”
Invoking Assam’s cultural icons, he recalled Srimanta Sankardev, Bhupen Hazarika, Jyotiprasad Agarwala and Zubeen Garg as embodiments of Assam’s soul. “These personalities embodied the soul of Assam. They spoke of unity, rejecting hatred and violence,” he said, adding that the idea he promoted during the Bharat Jodo Yatra — “a shop of love in the market of hatred” — lives in Assam. He said of Zubeen that the singer “never spread hatred or insulted anyone, but spoke of brotherhood and unity.”
Rahul also attacked the state government over what he described as “broken promises,” citing tea garden workers’ wages. He alleged, “despite promising Rs 350 in the last elections and failing to deliver, the BJP is now shamelessly making a fresh false promise of Rs 500.” He accused the BJP of falsely promising Scheduled Tribe status to six communities and claimed a “syndicate rule is being run in Assam under the direction of Delhi.”
Targeting the “double engine” government at Centre and state, Rahul urged voters to protect Assam’s plural identity, calling the state “a beautiful bouquet of diverse ideologies, religions and communities, where every identity must have its own space.” He sought full public support to form a government for the poor and working classes and asked rally-goers to help “oust what he termed a Delhi-controlled and corrupt government.”
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/04/02/will-implement-article-244a-in-karbi-anglong-if-cong-comes-to-power-rahul-gandhi/
Category: NATIONAL,News Alert,REGIONAL
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Publish Date: 2026-04-02 21:07:00
