Keeping up with the party’s strategy of making personal attacks against their opponents, Assam Congress president Ripun Bora has now mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on their marital status. While speaking at an election rally for the ongoing Panchayat election in Assam, Bora said that Modi and Sonowal don’t understand the love of children because they are bachelors.
Ripun Bora was attacking the new provision of two child norm that has been imposed in the panchayat elections. According to an amendment made in the Panchayat Act in the state in line with Population Policy of Assam adopted last year, people having more than two children after 19th March 2018 can’t contest in the elections. The Panchayat Act amendment also stipulated minimum educational criteria for candidates and made it mandatory to have toilets in their homes.
Ripun Bora attacked this two-child norm for panchayat election candidates while campaigning for the party candidates at Baghmara Tea Estate in Biswanath in Assam. He said, “Sarbandana Sonowal has made this rule, he has not married, he is single, he does not have love for small children, he does not understand what is love for small kids”. After that, he added, “even Modi does not understand it. Because although Modi had married, six months after the marriage he had chased away his wife from his house. For the last 45 years, he is leading a life of a bachelor. Modi is single, how will he know the value of children in family”.
Bora added, “government should supply water, they should build roads. But instead of doing these the government is going house to house counting children”. Then he dragged Ramdev into the debate, saying, “Sonowal follows Modi, and Modi follows Baba Ramdev, and that Ramdev is also a bachelor. Nobody is married, they don’t value the love of children”. Ripun Bora’s these comments attracted a huge applause from the crowd gathered at the rally.
The Panchayat and Zila Parishad election in the state is scheduled to take place in two phases on 5 and 9 December 2018. The counting of votes will take place on 12 December.