Himanta Using Two Policies, of Purchasing and Threatening: Assam Congress Chief Bhupen Borah

The Assam leg of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s yatra last month saw it collide head-on with the Himanta Biswa Sarma state government.

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against Gandhi after three days of permission refusals, including to visit the Batadrava Than; BJP supporters surrounding his convoy chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans; attacks on Congress MP Jairam Ramesh’s vehicle; and skirmishes with the police in Guwahati that also left Borah injured.

Subsequently, Borah has been summoned thrice by the state CID for the property damage during the clash in Guwahati as well as for route violations by the Jorhat police station.

Meanwhile, the Assam unit of the Congress has seen a series of desertions in recent weeks, including of two former working presidents Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha (who declared his support for the BJP and subsequently resigned from the party); along with another MLA, Basanta Das.

Former state Congress president Rana Goswami and general secretary Suruj Dehingia have also joined the BJP.

In an interview with The Wire, Borah called it a ‘temporary setback’ and said that Sarma is using ‘two policies of purchasing and threatening’.

‘Maybe this can be a temporary setback. Because Himanta Biswa Sarma is using two policies – purchasing and threatening.

‘Now he is indirectly threatening me. Why else is the Jorhat police station and CID calling me constantly? That means they are threatening me that ‘either you surrender or you be ready for punishment’.

‘I am a mentally strong person. I don’t care if I go to jail, but some people care,’ he said.

He also said that with the BJP government notifying the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Assam – which was at the centre of protests in 2019 – will choose to vote for the INDIA alliance.

Read the full interview here, which has been edited lightly for language and brevity.

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Sravasti Dasgupta: You received summons from the CID on March 12 for the third time in connection with the alleged violations and property damage during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam. Did you go to the CID office?

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was meant to visit the birthplace of the 15th-century Vaishnavite religious leader, Srimanta Shankardev, stages a sit-in in Assam, on January 22. Photo: X@INCIndia

Bhupen Borah: No, I did not go. Yes, I received [a] CID notice for the third time, but I told them repeatedly that until and unless I complete the process of ticket distribution, I cannot go.

As the Assam Congress president, I cannot spare time now. You can arrest me [and] then I can give the charge to one of the senior members of my party, but until and unless I complete the ticket distribution process, I don’t have the time to go to the CID office.

I have not received any circular after that. I have only announced 13 seats [for Assam], one is yet to be decided. After that, if they call me, I will definitely go.

SD: Why do you think the Assam government is naming you in this case of property damage during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra?

BB: They [the Assam police] have registered cases against me under eight sections, of which two are non-bailable, in the Jorhat police station. I have already gone to the police station twice, where they have interrogated me for over six to seven hours. During the Yatra I was attacked as well.

[The yatra used] The same venue where Modi addressed big public rallies [and] the same route that was used by J.P. Nadda to [travel to] Batadrava, but Rahul ji was stopped.

So as a symbol of protest we broke three barricades. There is nothing to hide because this took place in front of TV cameras. As [Congress] president, it was my duty, since my leader was waiting to go to Guwahati city.

The Guwahati press club formally invited Rahul ji so we were just trying to go there to meet the media.

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SD: During the yatra, you were injured and you have said that the people who attacked you … are walking free, while you are being summoned.

Are you saying that there has been inaction by the state government and targeted action against you and other Congress leaders?

BB: From the very beginning, the CM first tried to purchase me. So many people close to the CM contacted me and asked me, ‘What [do] you want, your energy will be wasted, you should join us [the BJP].’.

For six months they tried and when they found that I am committed to my ideology and my party leader, then they served three notices to demolish my house in Guwahati. But due to civil society support, my house is still there.

They transferred my wife, who is associate professor in Guwahati Medical College, then they transferred my brother and my sister-in-law, and lastly they physically attacked me during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

They have also reduced my security. So first they tried to purchase me, but now they are trying to threaten me. But I assure the people of Assam and my leadership that I will not compromise.

SD: In recent weeks, we have seen a series of desertions by Congress leaders in Assam before elections, including former working presidents Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, who declared his support for the BJP, and Rana Goswami; MLA Basanta Das; and former general secretary Suruj Dehingia, who have joined the BJP.

Is the Assam Congress failing to keep its flock together before the Lok Sabha elections?

BB: I cannot take action against MLAs, as they are under the AICC [All India Congress Committee]’s jurisdiction. From the time of the presidential elections [when Congress MLAs cross-voted against the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in 2022], we know Himanta Biswa’s agents are within us. Now they are leaving us.

I have said before also that we want a Himanta Biswa-mukt Congress. He was in the Congress for so many years [and so] he has maintained friendships. There are many second-line leaders who will come forward.

Photo: Twitter/@himantabiswa.

Maybe this can be a temporary setback. Because Himanta Biswa Sarma is using two policies – purchasing and threatening. Now he is indirectly threatening me. Why else is the Jorhat police station and CID calling me constantly? That means they are threatening me that ‘either you surrender or you be ready for punishment’.

I am a mentally strong person. I don’t care if I go to jail, but some people care.

SD: Assam is at the centre of the debate against the CAA after it was notified this month. The AASU [All Assam Students Union] has been protesting, Congress leaders have also moved the Supreme Court.

What impact will the CAA have on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in your assessment and how does the Congress plan to address it?

BB: This is a 2019 law. The reason they passed the notification just before elections is politically motivated. We have decided we will fight on the road, [on the] court and in ballot papers.

So we have filed petitions [against] the CAA; secondly, our agitation is going on and we are ready to join hands with all student organisations.

[A forum of] All 16 opposition parties [the United Opposition Forum of Assam] – of which I am the chairman – [is] ready to fight against the CAA. But as elections are coming, we are appealing to the people that if you don’t want the CAA, then vote against the BJP.

Sarbanand Sonowal [fielded by the BJP in Dibrugarh this time] will lose because he was CM when five people were killed during CAA protests in 2019.

Sarma has also said that Assam has already taken a lot of burden till 1971 [and] we cannot take anymore. That was a formal statement given; now only for the sake of power, he is doing this to the people of Assam.

So I am appealing to the people of Assam that if you are against the CAA, then you should vote for the INDIA alliance.