As Pijush Hazarika Meets Bhupen Borah, Rakibul Angle Comes Up

Assam cabinet minister Pijush Hazarika and Lakhimpur MLA Manab Deka on Wednesday met with former Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah at his residence after the latter resigned from the party and subsequently decided to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Bhupen Borah termed it a courtesy visit as he spoke to reporters afterwards. He said, “Congress is now trying to discredit me. This is not surprising to me. They have the right to speak against me till February 22. I will also respond to everything they have to say.”

He said, “Whoever wants a ticket from Congress will now have to speak against me. That is why Mira Borthakur’s comments are not surprising. The worse they speak about me, the closer they will get to Gaurav Gogoi. 

The ex-president of Assam Congress took names as he alleged Rakibul Hussain of giving out tickets for money. Borah said he has nothing personal against Hussain, as he cleared the air around the latter’s involvement in his decision to resign from Congress.

The Behali By-polls

Following his shock resignation on Monday, Bhupen Borah had hinted that one of the factors behind his decision was something that happened during the by-elections for the Behali constituency in 2024. Borah had then resigned as the president of Asom Sonmilito Morcha (ASM), the forum of united opposition in Assam, citing excessive pressure in resolving the dispute over candidate selection. 

Speaking about it today, he said, “The person who got the candidature was not even from Congress. I had resigned after that. On February 9 [this year], I was again entrusted with forming a united opposition. However, within 48 hours, I don’t know how Rakibul Hussain’s name came up.”

“Some of the Congress central leadership understood that Congress was suffering due to Rakibul Hussain. They understood that his removal would coincide with an upturn in the party’s future in Assam,” Borah said.

He further said, “They could not tolerate how a high school teacher’s son could become APCC president.  They are children and family members of ministers and chief ministers. They never gave me the respect of a president during my tenure.”

On speculations that there has been a transaction to the tune of Rs 50 crore in bringing Bhupen Borah to the BJP, the new entrant said, “I have told Pijush Hazarika that if they are going to give me Rs 50 crore, I will take it in front of everyone. I had a dream of building a stadium in my father’s name. I will use the money for it.”

What Pijush Hazarika Said?

Meanwhile, Pijush Hazarika also spoke to reporters after the meeting and took a dig at Rakibul Hussain. When asked whether Hussain was the reason behind Bhupen Borah’s departure from Congress, Hazarika said, “The Congress high command has always looked to appease a certain community. We cannot comment on that. They don’t want any trouble to befall them. Let alone trouble, they are not ready to take any action on a legal basis or logic.”

Asked about the Congress’ downfall in Assam, he said, “The Chief Minister has that only three people will remain in Congress, and maybe one or two more. Apart from that, everyone else will be gone. Apart from that, those with self-respect and pride and those who really want to work for the people of Assam will leave Congress. Congress will see the result of this in the upcoming elections.”

Hazarika mentioned that there is no credible leader in the opposition who can take on the BJP, saying that the good leaders have been turned away from the party.

The minister also spoke about his time in Congress, and when Himanta Biswa Sarma had the support of a majority of the party’s MLAs to become the Chief Minister instead of Tarun Gogoi, but was turned down. “When 58 MLAs went to meet Mallikarjun Kharge and said that Himanta Biswa Sarma should become the next Chief Minister, at the time, only 12 MLAs were with Tarun Gogoi. The remaining were neutral.”

“There were 78 MLAs at the time, and the majority supported Himanta Biswa Sarma. Despite that, Congress party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, illegally, I have to say, because it was not democratic, the majority of MLAs did not support Tarun Gogoi, yet Himanta Biswa Sarma was overlooked,” added Hazarika.