Congress Observer Tirkey Accuses BJP of Betraying Assam's Tea Workers and Adivasi Communities

Guwahati: Congress' election observer for Assam, Bandhu Tirkey, launched a wide-ranging attack on the BJP government on Thursday, accusing Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma of systematically undermining the interests of tea garden workers and Adivasi communities in the state.

Speaking to the media at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati, Tirkey laid out a series of allegations spanning wage disputes, land pattas, corruption, and what he described as a deliberate targeting of minority communities ahead of the Assam Assembly elections.

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Tirkey alleged that a special committee constituted by the late Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi specifically to determine fair wages for tea garden workers was effectively shut down after the BJP came to power.

"During the Congress government, a special committee had been constituted for tea garden workers to determine their wages. After the BJP came to power, the committee was rendered inactive and prevented from performing its intended functions," he said.

He further alleged that while wages were nominally increased by Rs 20 to Rs 30, no formal agreement was ever reached and established norms for wage revision were bypassed entirely — leaving workers without the pay they deserved.

Tirkey raised concern about the fate of tea estates in Assam under the current government, alleging that several gardens have been sold or shut down since the BJP assumed power.

Citing the Charaideo tea estate as an example, he accused the government of standing by while the backbone of Assam's tea industry — and the livelihoods attached to it — eroded.

One of the sharpest charges Tirkey levelled concerned a 2001 incident in Biswanath, in which two Adivasi youths — Raju Munda and Pushpa Gowala — were allegedly killed. He said allegations in the case pointed to BJP MLA Padma Hazarika, yet no investigation has been ordered despite sustained protests by several organisations.

"Justice has been denied to the victims' families," Tirkey said, accusing the BJP government of shielding those responsible.

Tirkey alleged widespread corruption under the Sarma-led government and claimed that a so-called "syndicate" system operated openly under the Chief Minister — a charge he said is well known to the public, even if people are reluctant to speak out openly out of fear.

"People are hesitant to speak openly, but they will raise these issues strongly in the coming days," he said, pointing to what he described as a strong undercurrent of anti-incumbency across Assam.

On the politically sensitive question of Scheduled Tribe status, Tirkey accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of failing to deliver on a promise made over a decade ago.

"The promise to grant ST status to six communities remains unfulfilled even after 12 years," he said, adding that the recent distribution of land pattas ahead of elections amounted to little more than a political tactic.

He also questioned the validity of the land patta exercise, asking how pattas could be granted on tea estate lands without first clarifying the loan liabilities attached to those properties.

Addressing the departure of some leaders from the party, Tirkey was dismissive, saying those who left had prioritised personal interests over the party's cause.

He asserted that Adivasi and tea workers across Assam have made up their minds to remove the current government from power and expressed confidence that the Congress — under the leadership of Gaurav Gogoi — will form the next government in the state.