STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Former Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora was injured during a protest rally in Guwahati on Thursday as the Congress observed a statewide "Black Day" against alleged police action against Opposition leaders during a protest in Delhi. Bora was taken to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) after a confrontation between Congress protesters and police at Rajiv Bhawan. Congress leaders alleged that police forcibly removed Bora during the scuffle, leaving him with a leg injury that required four stitches. He was subsequently admitted for treatment.
The Guwahati City District Congress Committee organised the rally from Rajiv Bhawan with APCC support. Police stopped the protesters by putting up barricades, triggering the confrontation. The Congress alleged that other workers were also injured and claimed that the barricades prevented an ambulance from entering the Rajiv Bhawan premises after Bora was hurt.
Several senior Congress functionaries were detained during the agitation. They included APCC General Secretary (Organisation) Ramanna Baruah, Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur, Seva Dal chief Deep Bayan, All India Mahila Congress secretary Barnali Phukan and former MLAs Binanda Saikia, Satyabrata Kalita and Aminul Islam. Other members of the APCC, District Congress, Mahila Congress, Seva Dal, Youth Congress and NSUI were also allegedly manhandled and detained. The detainees were taken to the 4th Assam Police Battalion headquarters at Kahilipara and were reportedly released around 5:30 pm.
Across Assam, Congress workers and leaders wore black bands and staged demonstrations in coordination with District and Block Congress Committees. The party protested against what it described as excessive force used by Delhi Police against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other INDIA bloc MPs.
Bora said the agitation sought to defend the right to vote and maintained that police action, threats and detention would not silence the Opposition. Congress leader Nandita Das alleged that the credibility of the electoral process had been weakened and questioned the functioning of the Election Commission, claiming that recent decisions had favoured the BJP. The mobilisation followed Congress's October 7 protest in Delhi, where the party sought accountability from the Election Commission and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Congress alleged threats to democratic institutions and voting rights, while the government and the Election Commission rejected the allegations.
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