GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi while responding to Gandhi's allegations of “vote theft” during his visit to Gujarat.
Speaking to reporters at Kandla, Sarma dismissed Gandhi's allegations and said there was “no point” in commenting on him.
Sarma said he considered Rahul Gandhi a “mad person” and questioned why he should respond to his remarks.
“Sometimes he is clean-shaven and at other times he has a beard. One day he is in the country and the next day he is abroad. I consider such a person mad, so there is no point in commenting on him,” Sarma said.
The remarks came when reporters asked him about Gandhi's allegations regarding the electoral process.
Sarma was in Gujarat to attend the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the country's first 150-tonne-per-day e-methanol plant at Kandla, a Rs 2,300-crore joint venture between the Deendayal Port Authority and Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited.
He said the project would produce green fuel for the maritime sector, generate more than 3,500 direct and indirect jobs and help reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Sarma also highlighted industrial ties between Gujarat and Assam and said the project was an important step in India's green-energy transition. He linked it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also attended the ceremony.