Gaurav Gogoi slams BJP for ‘divide and rule’, calls CM Sarma a modern-day British ruler

DOBOKA: Just as the British once ruled India by dividing its people, the BJP and its government are now attempting to rule by dividing society, said Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Gaurav Gogoi on Friday. He alleged that, like the British, the BJP has created divisions among people in the name of religion. Addressing a massive public meeting held after the 'Save the Community, Save the Land' padyatra organised by the Hojai District Youth Congress at Doboka, Gogoi launched a sharp attack on the BJP and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. In his speech, Gogoi said the Congress is not a party centred around any one individual; it is the party that led India to freedom.

Recalling the significance of Martyrs' Day, Gogoi said that on this day everyone pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. This, he said, is the legacy of the Congress party-the party of Mahatma Gandhi. He noted that when India attained independence, freedom fighters and political leaders were in Delhi, but Mahatma Gandhi was not. Raising the question of why Gandhi was not in Delhi, Gogoi explained that Gandhi's duty at that time was to restore peace and harmony, and therefore he was in West Bengal, where communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims had erupted. Mahatma Gandhi, he said, single-handedly went to West Bengal and brought an end to the violence, restoring peace.

Gogoi said it is necessary to reiterate this history today because politics of hatred and violence is once again being promoted. The BJP government, he alleged, is reviving the British policy of division in the country. The BJP has already divided people on religious lines, and now Himanta Biswa Sarma is trying to create further divisions, behaving like a "modern-day British ruler." That is why, he said, Assam needs the Congress party more than ever.

He recalled that whenever a Congress government came to power in Assam under the leadership of late Tarun Gogoi, peace prevailed in the state. Today, he said, there is no fear of ULFA or similar groups; the fear among people is of the oppressive and arrogant administration led by Himanta Biswa Sarma. Just as the Congress removed fear from the lives of people after assuming power in 2001, the party will once again eliminate fear from Assam in 2026, he asserted.

Gogoi cautioned people to remain alert, stating that Himanta Biswa Sarma himself has realised that his time is running out. He referred to statements made earlier by Rahul Gandhi, who had said at a public meeting in Chaygaon that the day a Congress government comes to power, Himanta Biswa Sarma will have to go to jail. Gogoi alleged that after realising that the people of Assam no longer support him and that a Congress-led government is imminent, Himanta Biswa Sarma has sought help from his closest associate-Ajmal. He claimed that Ajmal entered Assam's political scene precisely when Himanta Biswa Sarma's "boat began to sink," adding that Ajmal returned to Assam the moment Sarma "dialled 108" for help.

Urging people not to be misled, Gogoi said the Congress must win the Binnakandi Assembly constituency in the upcoming elections. He stressed that the voice of Binnakandi must be represented in the Assam Legislative Assembly and that a Congress MLA would raise the constituency's issues on the floor of the House, stated a press release.

 Also Read: Congress begins poll campaign in Barak; Gaurav Gogoi hits out at BJP ‘misrule’