Barak Valley a Key Battleground: Gaurav Gogoi Predicts Congress Govt in Assam

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday declared that the Barak Valley would witness a decisive political battle, asserting that the Congress is set to form the next government in Assam. He was addressing a regional Congress meeting in Cachar district.

Recalling the legacy of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, the APCC chief said the people of Barak Valley continue to remember his direct engagement with the region and his consultative approach to development. He noted that Tarun Gogoi had worked to ensure political security for all communities, advocated sub-divisional status for Katigorah Mouza, and clearly maintained that all those included in the voters’ list up to 2014 were Indian citizens. He also highlighted Tarun Gogoi’s efforts to strengthen political representation from Barak Valley, undertaken in consultation with senior Congress leaders such as Santosh Mohan Dev and Ajit Singh.

Gaurav Gogoi alleged that since Himanta Biswa Sarma became chief minister, development discourse in Barak Valley has collapsed, giving way to what he described as a “valley of syndicates.” He said there is no discussion on honouring language martyrs, improving railway connectivity or developing national highways. He pointed to an acute shortage of doctors in health centres and the closure of government schools in tea garden areas, accusing the government of neglecting these issues while focusing on facilitating the inflow of betel nut into Assam through Barak Valley.

Launching a sharp attack on the chief minister, Gogoi alleged that Sarma has openly admitted to being a “vote thief” and accused the BJP of systematic vote manipulation. He further alleged cattle theft from indigenous communities in Upper Assam, citing incidents from Tinsukia, and accused the government of attempting to grab land from Bodo, Rabha and Karbi communities in Kokrajhar, Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong.

Gogoi claimed the BJP was stealing votes from minorities, land from tribal communities, cattle from indigenous people and water from tea gardens, remarking that the Jal Jeevan Mission had become “money in Jayanta’s pocket.” He questioned whether issues related to D-voters, NRC complications and ration distribution had been resolved, asserting that these failures led Bengali-speaking people to reject the BJP in the recent BTC elections.

Accusing the chief minister of portraying Bengali-speaking Indians as Bangladeshis, Gogoi said it was shameful that families living in Assam for generations were now facing questions over their citizenship. He criticised the BJP for what he termed a lack of understanding of Bengali culture and history, referring to the recent Karimganj incident involving “Amar Sonar Bangla” and recalling Rabindranath Tagore’s nationalist role.

He also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attempting to appropriate the slogan “Vande Mataram” for the BJP, noting that it was first sung at a Congress session and was central to the freedom struggle, unlike the ideological predecessors of the BJP, whom he claimed did not oppose British rule.

Alleging corruption, Gogoi claimed that only one family, the chief minister’s, had prospered under the BJP government. He alleged large-scale land purchases across Assam in the name of the chief minister’s wife and said 18 companies were registered in the name of Sarma’s son. He announced that Congress would soon launch a website detailing these land acquisitions district-wise and promised that such land would be reclaimed and redistributed to the poor if Congress came to power.

Gogoi further accused the BJP of insulting religious minorities and asserted that Congress stood for harmony, drawing inspiration from Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Questioning Sarma’s claim of being a Hindu leader, he alleged ministerial involvement in cattle syndicates and described the chief minister as an opportunistic politician lacking ideological commitment.

He recalled Sarma’s political switches from AGP to Congress and later to BJP, alleging that the chief minister evades accountability by changing parties. Citing Rahul Gandhi, Gogoi said Sarma would “end up in jail” if Congress returned to power and asserted that Congress would never accept him back.

Predicting a political “tsunami” starting from Upper Assam and sweeping through Lower Assam to Barak Valley, Gogoi said Congress mandal committees in Barak had already begun wall-writing campaigns. He promised to resolve NRC-related issues and restore Barak Valley’s political strength by reclaiming two Assembly seats that were taken away.

Congress observer for Assam Bandhu Tirkey, AICC secretary in charge of Assam Vikas Upadhyay, Assam Youth Congress observer Mitendra Darshan Singh and Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain also addressed the meeting, calling on people to unite against what they described as corruption and syndicate rule under the BJP government.