The verbal duel between the Congress party and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma continued on Thursday as Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra resumed from the BJP-ruled state.

Sarma on Wednesday reiterated that Gandhi and other Congress leaders facing charges for allegedly provoking the crowd will be arrested after the Lok Sabha elections as taking such an action now will politicise the issue. Referring to the FIR lodged against Congress leaders, Sarma, who also holds the Home portfolio, announced that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) would investigate the matter.

Responding to the chief minister’s statement, Congress MP Abdul Khaleque dared Sarma to arrest them right away and accused the BJP leader of using the police for political gains.

“If he has the courage to arrest, do it now. Why after the Lok Sabha elections. He is using the state police for his political gains,” he said.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, “Let him file FIRs. We will continue with our yatra. Let him divide the nation based on religion and language, we will bring the nation together with our Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra… He is the most corrupt CM and it is only expected from him to say all this.”

Gandhi stepped up his attack on the Assam chief minister during a public meeting in Barpeta district on Wednesday, labelling Sarma as the “most corrupt CM” in the country and levelling a series of allegations related to land and areca nut trade.

“I don’t know how Himanta Biswa Sarma got the idea that he can intimidate me by filing cases. File as many cases as you can. File 25 more cases; I am not going to be intimidated. The BJP-RSS can’t intimidate me,” the former Congress president said.

“I gave a speech against (Narendra) Modi’s special friend (Gautam) Adani, and a case was filed against me. Then they threw me out of Parliament and took away my government residence. I gave the keys myself; I don’t want it. My home is in the heart of every Indian citizen; I live there. I have lakhs of houses in Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and all other states,” he asserted.