Guwahati, June 14: Expressing grave concern over rising communal tensions in various parts of Assam, senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi on Saturday urged Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to uphold Raj Dharma and ensure the protection of all communities, particularly the vulnerable.
Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati, Bordoloi said, “Even though I do not call Himanta Biswa Sarma a king, he seems to consider himself one. Then, as per that perception, he should follow Raj Dharma—the principle that a ruler must act justly and protect all, especially the weak.”
Drawing a parallel with the 2002 Gujarat riots, he recalled that then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had advised Narendra Modi to “follow Raj Dharma.” Echoing that call, Bordoloi said, “A true leader must rise above partisanship and protect the weak. That is Raj Dharma. That is the duty of a Chief Minister.”
Bordoloi was reacting to recent incidents of communal tension in Dhubri, Hojai, and other districts during Eid celebrations. He welcomed the Chief Minister’s shoot-at-sight order against those inciting violence but demanded that the government take responsibility for failing to prevent such incidents in the first place.
“If, as the Chief Minister claims, elements from Bangladesh are entering Assam to spark communal unrest, it reflects a massive intelligence and administrative failure. How can foreign forces cross the border and operate in Dhubri under the nose of our security agencies?” Bordoloi questioned.
He further alleged that provocative acts such as the dumping of beef in public spaces and religious places were part of a larger conspiracy to disturb Assam’s harmony. Comparing the incidents to terror attacks, he said, “If these are indeed foreign-sponsored acts, it’s no less serious than the Pahalgam attacks. We have police, intelligence, and the Border Security Force—why are they failing?”
Turning his attention to the Chief Minister’s rhetoric, Bordoloi accused Sarma of promoting the divisive “two-nation theory” by attempting to pit communities against each other. “Since joining the BJP, Himanta Biswa Sarma has been trying to polarize society along religious lines. This is the same ideology that India rejected during Partition under Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership,” he said.
He claimed that certain BJP and RSS-linked forces were encouraging communal conflict around festivals like Eid and Durga Puja. “Even in BJP-ruled states like Bihar, UP, and Haryana, police have arrested individuals with RSS-BJP links for trying to instigate communal violence,” Bordoloi alleged.
The Congress MP demanded that the Assam government identify and uproot these “evil forces” and reiterated his party’s support for protecting sattra land and other heritage properties across the state. However, he criticized the government’s “double standards” for evicting indigenous communities while allocating large swathes of tribal land—like 3,600 bighas in Parbatjhora—to corporate groups such as the Adani Group.
He also raised concerns over the alleged discrimination faced by indigenous Muslims in the implementation of Mission Basundhara 2.0. “Their names are missing from land allotment lists, and many applications remain pending. This is unacceptable,” Bordoloi said.
