Assam: Congress observer flees Hailakandi office amid workers’ protest

A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: The Congress office in Hailakandi witnessed a series of dramatic events on Saturday as party observer and Sonai MLA Aminul Haque Laskar had to flee the scene following heavy protests by party cadres. Laskar, who had previously represented the BJP in the Assembly, was rescued by his security personnel and whisked away. Agitated Congress workers shouted slogans such as “BJP’s dalal” and chased his SUV.

Aminul Haque Laskar and APCC general secretary Dhrubajyoti Purkayastha had been sent to Hailakandi by state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi to assess the reasons behind the defeat of party candidate Rahul Roy in the recent Assembly election. Saturday’s meeting at the Hailakandi Congress office began on a tense note as party workers, most of them from the Youth Congress, directly challenged Aminul, terming him an agent of the ruling party.

They alleged that Laskar had recently been seen visiting the BJP office in Guwahati. The allegations and counter-allegations soon escalated into an extremely tense situation, and Laskar was virtually gheraoed by the angry workers. However, his security personnel somehow managed to rescue him, and he was seen virtually running towards his vehicle.

Recently, at an APCC meeting in Guwahati, Algapur-Katlicherra MLA Jubair Enam reportedly challenged Gogoi and termed him a failed leader. Subsequently, Enam’s name was found missing from the observers’ list published by the APCC. Insiders hinted that Saturday’s episode in Hailakandi was fallout of the earlier incident at Rajiv Bhawan involving Gogoi and Enam.

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