GUWAHATI, Dec 18 - Opposition Congress today categorically stated that it was not involved in the violence and vandalism that was witnessed last week during the agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA).
Addressing the media here, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora said that Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is �forcefully� and without any basis trying to establish that Congress workers were involved in the vandalism.
Bora said that Congress has already demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court into the entire violence.
He said that Sarma is trying to give a wrong impression before the public and put the blame for the vandalism on the Congress party.
He added that if the police have proof against any member of the party then it should act against such people and the Congress will also not hesitate to take action against any partyman against whom such charges are proved.
�Congress has opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or the CAB since it was first introduced in Parliament in 2016. And we are now opposing the CAA and our agitation will continue in the days to come as well. But our agitation has always been peaceful and democratic. Shouting slogans does not mean engaging in violence,� Bora said.
He also challenged Sarma to name the intellectual who allegedly orchestrated the violence outside Janata Bhawan.
Bora also said that RSS-Sangh Parivar elements may be responsible for inciting violence to give a bad name to the anti-CAA agitation.
He accused the government of trying to divert attention of the masses by announcing recruitment to 55,000 jobs and financial grant to 2,000 artistes. Bora also castigated the AGP for its stand on the CAA.
�They first supported the CAA in Rajya Sabha. And now they have sent a letter to the Prime Minister via the Governor calling for Assam to be kept out of the purview of the Act. That is total hypocrisy,� he said.
The APCC chief alleged that Congress workers across the State are being harassed and intimidated by the police at the behest of BJP leaders.
An APCC delegation today met the Chief Secretary and the DGP to complain about the issue. Congress leaders will meet Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi tomorrow on this matter. The party will organise sit-in protest against the CAA across the State tomorrow, Bora added.
