Will soon identify Rahul Gandhi's 'body double' used during Nyay Yatra in Assam: Himanta
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he will soon share the name and address of the "body double" purportedly used by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state.
Sarma had brought up the allegation of the Congress MP using a "body double" during the Yatra at a press conference on Thursday, during which he quoted a news report claiming that the person sitting and waving at people from the Yatra bus was "probably not Rahul Gandhi at all".
"I don't just say things. The duplicate's name, and how it was done -- I will share all details. Just wait for a few days," the chief minister said on Saturday in Sonitpur district on the sidelines of a programme, when asked by reporters about the allegation against Gandhi.
"I will be in Dibrugarh tomorrow (Sunday), and the next day also I will be out of Guwahati. Once I am back in Guwahati, I will give the name and address of the duplicate," he said.
The Manipur-Maharashtra Nyay Yatra, being led by Gandhi, had travelled through Assam from January 18 to 25, during which the Congress MP had alleged that Sarma was the "most corrupt CM of India".
The opposition party also alleged denial or problems in route permissions through the state by the BJP-led government. The situation reached a flashpoint when Congress leaders and workers broke police barricades erected to prevent them from entering the main city limits of Guwahati.
An FIR was registered against Gandhi and others over the incident, with Sarma later stating that they would be arrested after the Lok Sabha polls as he did not want to "politicise" the issue prior to the elections.
Sarma maintained that the Congress will need "all the Gandhis" -- Sonia, Priyanka and Rahul - to defeat him in the state.
"Let them bring Priyanka Gandhi's son also," he said.
"They have already put up their hands (in surrender). They couldn't do it through Rahul, so they will now get Priyanka and then Sonia," Sarma said, referring to the Congress' proposed programme in the state involving Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
On BJP and its allies' Lok Sabha poll prospects in the state, the CM said, "We have 11-and-a-half assured seats. We are working on how to convert it into 12. We are not bothered about any Congress list (of candidates)."
There are 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Of those, nine are currently held by the BJP, three by Congress, one by AIUDF and one Independent.
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13 UP men tricked into security guard jobs, forced to fight in Russia’s war; 3 dead, 8 missing
Azamgarh: Several youths from Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh and surrounding districts, who initially went to Russia for jobs as security guards and cooks, were fraudulently sent to fight on the Russian side in the war against Ukraine.
Out of the 13 men who travelled to Russia, three have died on the battlefield, while two others have returned home after sustaining injuries during the war. The whereabouts of the remaining eight are still unknown, and their families have not received any updates.
The Indian embassy in Moscow has designated the eight as ‘missing’, reported Times of India, citing the family members of the victims.
One such victim, Yogendra Yadav, had worked for several years in the Middle Eastern countries. The job offer in Russia seemed significantly better and more lucrative, as he was promised a watchman position that would pay him Rs 2 lakh per month. However, as his wife, Anita Devi, explained, the situation took a drastic turn. “Within a couple of days after landing in Russia, he informed us that he had been deceived by the agents and trapped in a battle zone. He along with others were asked to mandatorily take part in weapons training and then were sent on frontline to fight a war which had nothing to do with my husband or other Indian men,” she told TOI.
Yogendra has three children, including two daughters and a son. His eldest daughter, Muskan, is unsure about appearing for her class 12 board exams as her school fees have been unpaid for months, though the school had previously given her relief on humanitarian grounds.
Another missing victim is Azaruddin Khan, from Gulami Ka Pura in Azamgarh. His sister, Zeba, told the news outlet that the family is not asking for money, only his safe return. “It was the first time he went abroad for a simple job, not to fight in a war. After sending several emails to the Indian embassy in Moscow, we were only told that the status of eight men is still ‘missing’. My father, Mainuddin Khan, suffered a heart attack when he learned that Azaruddin was trapped in Russia to fight a war against Ukraine,” she shared.
Apart from Azaruddin Khan and Yogendra Yadav, several others from UP travelled to Russia between January and February last year, including Humeshwar Prasad, Vinod Yadav, Sunil Yadav, Kanhaiya Yadav, Arvind Kumar, Dhirendra Kumar, Deepak, Ramachandra, Shyam Sundar, Rakesh Yadav, and Brajesh Kumar Yadav.
Of these, Kanhaiya Yadav, Sunil Yadav, and Shyam Sundar died on the battlefield, with their bodies being returned to their hometowns between September and December 2024, added the report.
Rakesh Yadav and Brajesh Kumar Yadav returned home with shrapnel injuries in September last year. The whereabouts of the remaining eight men are still unknown.
