GUWAHATI, Dec 23 - Leader of Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia today lambasted the State Government regarding the re-arrest of KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi.
�The re-arrest and transfer of KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi to police custody in Dudhnoi on a separate charge yesterday and the protests sparked off in Dibrugarh following the move have made it clear that it is the BJP-led State Government which is responsible for fomenting public unrest and not the social activist,� said Saikia.
�The State Government is shamelessly trying to circumvent the quashing of NSA proceedings against Akhil Gogoi by the Gauhati High Court and the subsequent grant of bail to him by the lower court in Dibrugarh. The Sonowal ministry has now dropped all pretence of legally prosecuting a bona-fide accused and displayed that it is actually persecuting a political opponent,� he added.
Saikia said the Sarbananda Sonowal Government�s latest action �has exposed not only its vindictive nature, but also the fact that the Government has scant regard for either the judiciary or public opinion�.
�While it is true that leaders of the saffron ideology had not participated when the Congress spearheaded the peaceful protests which had ultimately defeated the British Raj, yet it is high time for the RSS and the BJP to accept that non-violent public dissent is part and parcel of a democratic set-up.
Is the Government headed by Sonowal even aware that Assam is ranked second only to Delhi when it comes to crimes against women? As per the National Crime Records Bureau data of 2016, cases of murder, kidnapping and robbery are also on the rise in Assam,� said Saikia.
He further said, �At a time when innocent people are being gunned down by militants and tea garden labourers indiscriminately fired upon by owners, it is impossible to find any justification for wasting public money and official manpower in harassing a lone man, when they could be better utilised in trying to bring the law and order situation under control.�
