Congress decisions taken in dining room of one family: Assam CM Himanta

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday slammed the Congress, claiming that it is a family-centric party, the agenda of which is set in the 'dining room of one family'.

The BJP, on the other hand, is a democratic party, formed by its workers, he asserted.

Speaking at the inauguration of a party office at Chakchaka in Barpeta district, Sarma said, "The BJP is a democratic party, formed by its workers. But if you look at Congress or other parties, these are not formed by workers, but are centred around their leaders and families."

"Decisions are taken in the dining room of the family and workers only follow it. The agenda and ideology of the party are changed to suit the requirement of the family," he said.

He maintained that the BJP, and previously the Jan Sangh, has always remained firm on its agenda and objectives, which are based on humanity, the welfare of all and prosperity for India.

"Whoever may be the party chief, there is no change in the party's agenda. If you look at Nadda ji (present BJP chief), he was a mere worker. He was not any leader's son or father," Sarma said.

Sarma also mentioned other leaders like Amit Shah and Narendra Modi, who rose to top positions without any family backing or patronage.

"In other parties, workers cannot rise to such high positions. There was (Jawaharlal) Nehru first, then Indira (Gandhi), then Sonia, then Rahul (in Congress). But in the BJP, there was Vajpayee, then Advani, Modi, Shah and Nadda. None of them are from one family," he said.

He asserted that the BJP is formed by the workers and the party's agenda is set in its offices and not in anyone's dining room.

The CM also maintained that the BJP is formed on four 'Ks' - 'karyasuchi' (agenda), 'karyakarta', (workers) 'karyalay' (office) and 'kosh' (fund).

"Like the four Vedas, these four are the four pillars on which our party's strength lies in the state," he added, exhorting the workers to continue working dedicatedly for the party.