Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday targeted Rahul Gandhi over a video showing the Congress leader pulling Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar by the collar. Himanta called the episode public humiliation on X. He wrote, "In 2015, I refused to swallow humiliation, as a proud Assamese. God was kind to me."
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday targeted Rahul Gandhi over a video showing the Congress leader pulling Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar by the collar during an opposition march in New Delhi, calling the episode "public humiliation" and questioning whether the Karnataka leader would accept it.
Sharing the video on X, Himanta invoked his own fallout with Rahul Gandhi in 2015, when he was in the Congress, suggesting that he had refused to tolerate what he considered humiliation.
"In 2015, I refused to swallow humiliation, as a proud Assamese. God was kind to me," the Assam CM wrote on X.
"The Chief Minister of Karnataka [DKS] is not just an individual. He is [in] a constitutional office, and the face of a state with a glorious history, a rich culture and deep pride," he added, asking, "Will he [DKS] bow to this public humiliation?"
Himanta also took aim at the political image of the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. "'Reinvention' can't hide arrogance. Change the mask all you like; the face beneath stays the same," Himanta wrote on X.
The Assam Chief Minister's remarks came as the video offered Rahul Gandhi's political opponents an opportunity to target him over his treatment of a senior Congress leader and the CM of Karnataka. Several other BJP leaders and supporters expressed criticism reacting to the video.
Himanta, who quit the Congress and joined the BJP in 2015, also used the episode to draw a parallel with his own contentious departure from the party.
In the video from the march, amid a large crowd of Congress workers, DKS was seen making his way towards the frontline, where Rahul Gandhi was marching alongside AISA chief Neha Bora and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. As the Karnataka CM tried to march ahead from the LoP's right side, Rahul Gandhi appeared to pull him backwards by the collar of his kurta. DKS seemingly lost his balance and was pushed further back by Rahul Gandhi's security personnel.
Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya called Rahul's act an "insult to the dignity of 7 crore Kannadigas."
WHAT HAPPENED DURING RAHUL GANDHI'S MARCH ON OCTOBER 12?
The controversy was triggered by a video from the Monday march led by Rahul Gandhi towards the Supreme Court in New Delhi. Opposition leaders of several parties and civil society bodies sought to submit a memorandum against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The march was followed by an attempt by the opposition leaders to meet the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, who declined to meet the delegation. Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the JNU's Neha Bora, workers from the Youth Congress and that of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI).
DKS and chief ministers from Congress-led governments were also part of the march. A video from the march showed Rahul Gandhi pulling the collar of DKS, apparently moving him away from the frontline.
The footage quickly drew reactions from BJP leaders and other critics of Lok Sabha LoP, who questioned his conduct towards the sitting CM of Karnataka.
"Politics aside, CM of Karnataka DK Shivakumar represents Karnataka. Such public humiliation is an insult to the dignity of 7 crore Kannadigas," wrote Tejasvi Surya, a BJP MP from Bengaluru.
Surya compared the instance of Rahul Gandhi pulling Shivakumar by the collar of his kurta to the instance of "[Former PM] Rajiv Gandhi unceremoniously announcing Veerendra Patil's removal as Karnataka CM at an airport".
Vivek Thakur, BJP MP from Nawada, Bihar, wrote on X, "Political privilege does not give anyone the right to humiliate others".
That's when Himanta highlighted the incident, slammed the Congress leader over his conduct and recalled his exit from the party after he said he "refused to swallow humiliation".
THE 2015 INCIDENT THAT FUELLED HIMANTA'S RIFT WITH RAHUL
Himanta has repeatedly cited a meeting with Rahul Gandhi in 2015 as a turning point in their relationship and a trigger for his exit. At the time, he was a senior Congress leader in Assam and had visited Rahul Gandhi's residence in New Delhi with other senior party leaders to discuss issues concerning the party's state unit, which was facing internal differences.
In an interview in May 2016, Himanta alleged that Rahul Gandhi's pet dog, Pidi, took a biscuit from a plate served to the leaders during the meeting. He claimed that Rahul Gandhi did not ask his staff to replace the plate before offering biscuits to the guests from Assam. The Assam CM later cited the episode as an instance of humiliation that contributed to his decision to leave the Congress.
Himanta Biswa Sarma quit the Congress and joined the BJP in 2015. He became Assam Chief Minister in 2021 and has since repeatedly invoked the alleged incident to criticise Rahul Gandhi.
The feud resurfaced in February 2024 after a video from Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Jharkhand showed him offering a biscuit to a puppy before handing one to its owner when the animal appeared to refuse it. BJP leaders accused Rahul Gandhi of disrespecting party workers, while the LoP said the dog ate the biscuit when its owner offered it.
Himanta Biswa Sarma's latest attack brought the long-running feud back into focus, with the Assam Chief Minister using the footage of Rahul Gandhi and DK Shivakumar to question the Congress leader's conduct and draw attention to his own break with the party.