Suggestion box row in Jorhat: Congress seeks police action; BJP corners party

Jorhat, Jan 8: A controversy erupted in Jorhat, on Thursday, after Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) leader Gaurav Gogoi alleged that suggestion boxes used during a party outreach programme had been tampered with, prompting the Congress to seek a police probe into the incident.

Gogoi said the boxes, placed to collect public feedback during the Congress initiative “Raijor Podulit Raijor Congress”, were found damaged after the event, with chits allegedly removed by miscreants.

The programme was held at the Jorhat Press Club on Wednesday night as part of the party’s efforts to gather grievances and suggestions ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections.

“Yesterday, we had a very constructive discussion with around 40 organisations and collected their suggestions. However, we later found that someone had removed and torn the chits from the suggestion box. I have informed the district Congress unit and asked them to lodge an FIR to ascertain how the chits were taken out,” Gogoi said.

Raijor Podulit Raijor Congress suggestion box

The issue surfaced after it was alleged that the district Congress unit had left behind the suggestion boxes at the Press Club after the meeting concluded.

Congress workers returned to the venue on Thursday morning to retrieve the box, an episode that quickly triggered political reactions and criticism from rival parties.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seized upon the incident to target the Congress, portraying it as evidence of the Opposition party’s disconnect with the public.

Assam BJP secretary Siddhanku Ankur Baruah drew a comparison with a past outreach initiative proposed by former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, claiming that the similar programme proposed by Gaurav’s father too had met the same fate.

“This programme has already flopped. The Congress did not even have the courage to collect the suggestion boxes carrying the opinions of party workers and citizens. By leaving them behind, the Congress insulted the people of Jorhat,” Baruah alleged.

He further contrasted the incident with what he described as the BJP’s sustained focus on grassroots engagement under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Meanwhile, sources said the Jorhat district Congress committee is likely to hold a press conference soon to clarify the circumstances under which the suggestion box was left behind and to respond to the political backlash surrounding the episode.