Congress leader Pawan Khera brands Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma 'Gaddar'

Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera called Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma a "gaddar" (traitor) and questioned his loyalty towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Criticising the Chief Minister, Khera told reporters at a press conference in Guwahati that "the person who could not be ours, how will he be theirs (BJP)?"

Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera has taken a strong stance against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, branding him a "gaddar" or traitor. 

This criticism was voiced during a press conference in Guwahati, where Khera questioned Sarma's allegiance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed scepticism about his loyalty to the BJP.

Khera, in his remarks, suggested that someone who couldn't remain loyal to the Congress should not be trusted to remain faithful to Narendra Modi and the BJP. He went on to comment on Sarma's self-designation as the 'Mama' (maternal uncle) of Assam, drawing a parallel with another political figure, Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Madhya Pradesh, and hinted that Sarma's fate might be similar.

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"He calls himself the ‘Mama’ (maternal uncle) of Assam. But there was one another ‘Mama’ from Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan. What has happened to him? It will be the same for Himanta Biswa Sarma. For this sort of ‘gaddar’, it is better not to speak much," the Congress leader said.

"But the person who betrayed the Congress, how can we expect him not to betray Narendra Modi?" he queried.

Highlighting Sarma's political history, Khera mentioned that the Chief Minister was a former Congress leader who parted ways with the party in July 2014 due to disagreements with then Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Sarma subsequently joined the BJP in August 2015, underlining his close ties with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Congress leader's criticism was further fueled by Sarma's recent statement predicting the decline of the Congress to a regional party after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. 

Khera countered this by suggesting that Sarma's continued communication with Congress leaders indicates his apprehension about the BJP's performance in the polls.

Khera's criticism of the Chief Minister came just days after Sarma said Congress is a "family-centric" party, which set the agenda in the "dining room of one family".

Addressing BJP workers at the inauguration of a party office at Chakchaka in Barpeta district on March 1, Sarma said the BJP is, however, a democratic party formed by its workers.