Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged that Home Ministry and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Baswa Sarma intervened to deny permission for his interaction programme with students in Meghalaya.
Gandhi, addressing from the Nyay Yatra bus in Guwahati, on Monday said, "I wanted to come to your university and talk to you, understand what you are facing and try and see in my own little way if I could have helped you. The Home Ministry of India called up the CM of Assam and the CM's office called up the leadership of your university and said that Rahul Gandhi must not be allowed to speak to the students of this university," ANI reported.
He added, "It is not important if Rahul Gandhi comes or does not come. What is important is that you are allowed to listen to anybody you want to listen to. This is not only happening in Assam but in every single university, college or school in India." Gandhi said: "They want to turn you into slaves but I know that nobody, no power in the universe can do it."
The Congress leader was scheduled to hold interactions with students, civil society members and party leaders at the University of Science and Technology in Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya.
Heavy security has been deployed in Assam as the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will be re-entering Assam on Tuesday. The Assam government has advised Gandhi to use the national highway instead of arterial roads in Guwahati to avoid traffic snarls in the city.
Ever since the yatra began, Rahul Gandhi and Assam CM have engaged in a war of words, with the Assam government restricting permissions to the yatra. On Monday, Gandhi was stopped from visiting the birthplace of iconic Vaishnav saint Srimanta Sankardeva and was asked to visit the temple after Ayodhya pran pratishtha.