“BJP’s Washing Machine Turned Himanta Clean”: Ripun Bora’s Jibe at Amit Shah

Assam Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora on Saturday hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for praising Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, accusing the BJP of double standards and “conveniently forgetting its past.”

Addressing a press conference in Lakhimpur, Bora termed Shah’s claim that the BJP government in Assam had kept corruption at bay “laughable.” He reminded that in 2014, Shah himself had described Sarma, then a Congress minister, as the “most corrupt” in India.

“In 2014, BJP leaders promised that Sarma’s corruption files would be reopened and he would be jailed for his alleged role in the Saradha scam, the Louis Berger scam, and the ₹1,000-crore Dima Hasao scam. He was even summoned by the CBI. But the moment he joined BJP, all his corruption was washed away. Is this the BJP washing machine at work?” Bora asked.

The Congress leader alleged that under Sarma’s leadership, syndicate raj in coal, betel nut and eggs had flourished, while the Chief Minister and his wife had acquired large tracts of land, resorts, hotels and tea estates both within and outside Assam.

On employment, Bora said Sarma had failed to fulfil his promise of one lakh jobs per year. “So far, only 94,000 appointments have been made, mostly against posts vacated by retirement. Today Assam has 38 lakh unemployed youths, up from 31 lakh in 2016. Yet Amit Shah congratulates the CM for employment creation. This is an insult to our youth,” he remarked.

The Congress leader also criticised Shah’s comments on investment and evictions. He said the MoUs signed by the government had not brought any substantial investment to Assam, while land belonging to indigenous people was being handed over to corporate houses such as Adani, Ambani and Ramdev. “Shah praises Sarma for evicting illegal immigrants, but in reality, 49,000 bighas of land taken away belonged to indigenous communities. This is nothing short of betrayal,” Bora alleged.

Taking on the ‘Orunodoi’ scheme, Bora said it was being run on borrowed money, leaving every child in Assam with a debt burden. “The economy is being destroyed for vote-bank politics, yet the Home Minister calls it an achievement,” he added.

Responding to Shah’s claim that Congress was a party of infiltrators, Bora retorted that it was the BJP that diluted the Assam Accord by enacting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He also asked why the government had not implemented Clause 6 of the Accord or the Bipul Sharma Committee recommendations, despite promises made in Parliament.

Bora further criticised the BJP for going silent on the issue of granting Scheduled Tribe status to six communities ahead of the elections.

Appealing to the people of Assam, he said: “If we again fall for BJP’s false promises and theatrics, the future of the Assamese people will be in grave danger.”

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