STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Former president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), Bhupen Kumar Borah, on Sunday formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia.
Addressing the gathering, Saikia said Borah’s induction would significantly strengthen the BJP. He remarked that Borah’s organizational expertise and extensive experience would play a vital role in further consolidating the party’s structural foundation. He also emphasized that the BJP’s 140 million dedicated workers across the nation have consistently made sacrifices in service of the motherland and urged the newly inducted leaders to commit themselves to serving the nation with the same spirit.
Borah said his decision to join the BJP was driven solely by a spirit of service. He lauded the development achieved in the state under the leadership of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and affirmed his commitment to working towards the successful realization of the BJP’s goals and objectives.
Speaking to reporters after joining the party, Borah launched a sharp attack on the Congress leadership, accusing the party of deviating from its core values and hurting the nation’s self-respect.
“I worked in the Congress for 32 years. The clothes I am wearing today are stained with my blood. They were stained in the presence of Rahul Gandhi,” Borah said in an emotional statement reflecting his long association with the Congress.
He further alleged that the Congress had compromised on issues of national pride. Soon after joining the party, Borah was inducted into the BJP’s State Executive Committee. He formally became a member of the party at a function held at the Assam BJP headquarters, Vajpayee Bhawan.
Along with Borah, several former Congress leaders — including former general secretary Dr Sanju Baruah, former Deputy Chief Executive Member of the Deori Autonomous Council Swarganarayan Deori, former general secretary Kankan Das, former Lakhimpur District Congress president Gagan Chandra Bora, and noted filmmaker and National Award recipient Maniram Singha — also joined the BJP, along with several other state and district-level Congress leaders and around 500 Congress workers.