Guwahati, July 6: The Assam unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sharply criticized the recently held Assam Sanmilita Nagarik Abhibartan at the Pragjyotish Cultural Complex in Guwahati, branding it a politically motivated campaign designed to derail Assam’s progress under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
In a statement issued from the party’s state headquarters, BJP spokesperson Ranjib Kumar Sharma described the event as a “political masquerade” led by self-styled intellectuals and left-leaning leaders intent on spreading misinformation. He alleged the gathering was an attempt to undermine state-led development and distort public understanding of land eviction drives.
Sharma accused the organisers of siding with illegal encroachments, particularly by what he termed “Miya Muslims,” by opposing government eviction initiatives aimed at reclaiming forest land, public property, and sattra (Vaishnavite monastery) lands. He claimed this amounted to tacit support for what he sees as a growing demographic threat to Assam’s social, economic, and cultural fabric.
Highlighting what he called selective outrage, Sharma criticized the event’s silence on alleged mass encroachments during the Congress regimes of former Chief Ministers Hiteswar Saikia and Tarun Gogoi. According to him, over 15,000 bighas of land belonging to more than 900 sattras were illegally occupied under their watch, primarily by settlers of suspected Bangladeshi origin—an issue completely ignored during the recent assembly.
The BJP further aimed Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi and Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi for expressing willingness to align with the Congress in upcoming elections. Sharma called this a calculated political surrender, stating that both leaders had compromised their regionalist stance for personal ambition and electoral gain.
“Joining hands with the Congress—a party responsible for the deaths of 855 Assamese youths during the Assam Movement—is a betrayal of the very principles these leaders once claimed to champion,” Sharma said. “It dishonours the sacrifices of thousands of families and erodes the Assamese identity.”
Sharma also questioned the credibility of the event’s key organisers, including Dr. Hiren Gohain, Paresh Malakar, and Abdul Mannan. Citing their past opposition to the Assam Movement and alleged support for illegal immigration from Bangladesh, he argued that their motives behind the event were suspect and politically driven.
The BJP concluded by asserting that the Abhibartan was not a citizens’ platform, but a coordinated political move to revive discredited alliances and mislead the public.
