NE Mahila Congress Presidents up the ante against Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The presidents of Mahila Congress of all northeastern states got into a huddle in Guwahati on Sunday to strongly condemn Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma’s alleged ‘dignity-for-jobs’ remark.

Briefing the media in Guwahati, the Mahila Congress leaders said that they would continue their protest until the Chief Minister tendered an apology and a CBI inquiry was ordered.

Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress (APMC) president Mira Barthakur said, “We have already lodged a formal complaint with the National Commission for Women (NCW) against the Chief Minister for his derogatory remarks. We will lodge a similar complaint with all state women’s commissions of the northeastern states. We’re hopeful that NCW and state women’s commissions will take swift action registering our complaints and forwarding the matter to the CBI inquiry.”

Borthakur also criticized the Chief Minister for politicizing the children of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi. “Children should be off-limits in politics. I hope his own children grow up to be better individuals than the example he is setting,” she said. Slamming Sarma’s ‘selective amnesia’, Borthakur noted that he was part of the Congress from 2001 to 2015—the same period he now maligns. Meghalaya Pradesh Mahila Congress president Jopiyn Scott Shylla termed Sarma’s comment “a lie and a vile attack” on women’s dignity. “For someone in a constitutional post to make such statements is dangerous and irresponsible,” she said.

Tripura Mahila Congress president Sarbani Chakravarty said, “We’ll not stop our protest until issues an apology. We also demand a CBI inquiry into the job scam the Chief Minister referred to.   Sarma Devi Mutum of Manipur echoed the demand for an immediate apology, while Nagaland’s Akumla Pogem and Mizoram’s Gogbinliani Diyani called out the BJP’s silence on key women’s issues—from the violence in Manipur to suspicious deaths like that of Junmoni Rabha and Indrani, a fund holder who allegedly died by suicide.

The leaders announced the formation of the North East Women’s Forum to spearhead coordinated protests across the region. Effigies of the Chief Minister will be burnt in multiple districts as part of their campaign.

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