In the run-up to Assembly polls, attacks on PM Modi and Cabinet members intensify in Assam

GUWAHATI: Months before the 2016 Assembly elections, the Assam Congress and All-India United Democratic Front have sought to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet colleagues with a no-holds-barred vitriolic attack.

On Monday, in a clear attempt to bring back beef controversy in the state, AIUDF leader Maulana Badruddin Ajmal attacked Modi, questioning the lunch menu during his recent visit to Pakistan. “Modi went to Pakistan had lunch with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. What meat did he had… did he eat beef there?” he asked. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi too has intensified attack on the Prime Minister, criticizing Modi for frequent foreign tours and domestic policies. “Modi has adopted step-motherly treatment towards us by cutting the special category state status and withdrawing the special fiscal package of Northeast India,” he said.

Earlier in the day, BJP supporters protested outside state Congress headquarter against a personal remark made by senior congress leader Nilamoni Sen Deka against Union Human Resource minister Smriti Irani, day before she was scheduled to visit Nalbari in the state.

The Congress office was pelted with stones and police had to resort to tear gas to quell the angry crowd. The Congress later claimed that around 25 of its workers were injured in the incident. Police have arrested several persons in this connection.