Guwahati, April 16: Tensions flared in Guwahati on Wednesday as over 300 Congress leaders and workers were detained during a protest march toward the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office at Christianbasti in the city. The protest was part of a nationwide agitation by the Congress party against what it calls the politically motivated targeting of its top leaders, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The detentions came in response to the ED’s recent move to serve notices to property registrars in Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow, directing them to initiate possession of properties associated with the National Herald newspaper. The Congress has condemned the move as a direct and calculated attack on its leadership.
Among those detained were prominent names from the party, including AICC secretary and Assam PCC in-charge Mannoj Chauhan, APCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah,former MP Ripun Borah, former MP Kirip Chaliha, MP Pradyut Bordoloi, APMC president Mira Borthakur Goswami and APCC vice president Jakir Hussain Sikdar.
The detained protesters were taken to a makeshift jail at the 10th APBn campus in Kahilipara and were later released on PR bonds.
Addressing the media, APCC President Bhupen Kumar Borah said, “We are not just here as Congress workers, but as defenders of democracy. This is not an isolated action. The BJP government is systematically misusing central agencies like the ED to suppress opposition voices.”
Borah went on to criticize the BJP’s governance in Assam, highlighting rising unemployment, growing debt, and erosion of cultural identity.
“Rather than addressing the pressing issues affecting the people of Assam, they are targeting those who dare to speak out,” he added.
Calling the ED action against National Herald an attack on press freedom and democratic values, Borah said:
“This is not just about Congress. This is about every Indian who believes in democracy and the Constitution. We will not back down.”
The protest in Guwahati was one of many organized across the country, as the Congress intensifies its campaign against what it calls the political weaponization of investigative agencies under the BJP-led central government.
