Barpeta (Assam), Jan 23 (PTI) Hours after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asked the DGP to register a case against Rahul Gandhi for "provoking the crowd" to break barricades, the Congress leader on Tuesday claimed that "fear in their hearts" has led to such a direction.

He also criticised the chief minister for a social media post in which the chief minister had made a "derogatory" statement about Dalits and backward castes.

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"They are jumping up and down now, filing a case against me. The case shows the fear in their hearts. They are afraid as people of Assam are standing up as 'tufan' and 'andhi' (storm) against them," Gandhi said, addressing a public meeting at Goreimari in Barpeta during his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'.

Referring to a post by the chief minister on X, Gandhi said, "Your CM said Dalits and people belonging to backward castes are born to serve general castes. What can be more insulting for Dalits and backward castes? Why are you silent?

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"You should not be silent, you are being insulted. You should keep your words in front of the CM. I will do it. Dalits, OBCs, Adivasis, minorities are not lesser than anyone," he asserted.

Gandhi, who is leading the Yatra from Manipur to Mumbai, added, "Our job in this march is to open 'mohabat ki dukan' in 'nafrat ka bazar'. We work to unite people."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)