GUWAHATI, Dec 17 - Accusing the State government of total failure in controlling the law-and-order situation following enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the Congress party today demanded resignation of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
�Sonowal should resign for his failure to control law and order in the State and also his failure to honour the commitment made to the Assamese people at public rallies as also in the Assam Legislative Assembly. Sonowal seems to have become a mere puppet who even did not have the courage to address the media yesterday regarding matters of the home department, of which he is the head. The government must answer as to how a bus was burnt during a peaceful procession. Was some anti-Assam element involved in such incidents? Assamese ladies are being beaten up by male IPS officers personally without cause. Instead of protecting their honour, the government is focusing on giving a communal colour to the mass uprising against CAA. Akhil Gogoi is not a terrorist. He is being punished by the vindictive BJP because he has persistently opposed the anti-Assam policy of the Modi and Sonowal governments,� Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia said at a press conference here.
Saikia said that many Congress workers have been targeted by the BJP government as part of a well thought-out gameplan to discredit the opposition party and derail the agitation.
�For example, secretary of the Assam unit of NSUI Babul Bikash Chetia of Digboi has been booked on charges of loot and arson at the residence of the Golai Gaon Panchayat president and the camp office at Digboi of the Dibrugarh MP. In reality, Chetia was part of a peaceful procession which included members of other organisations like AASU and AJYCP and no arson had taken place. Similarly, Congress Seva Dal chief of Majuli and former Majuli Youth Congress president Dinamoni Dutta has also been arrested on similar charges. In his case too, no loot or arson actually took place,� Saikia said.
He added that some people are saying that the Congress cannot be trusted. �But the fact is that we sacrificed a government in 1985 and signed the Assam Accord in the interest of the people of Assam. We also did the spadework for the updated NRC. In recent times, we have steadfastly opposed both versions of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or the CAB. Moreover, the Congress alone should not be blamed. The electorate of Assam gave opportunities to other parties whenever we failed to deliver. But they betrayed the people of Assam,� he said.
Regarding the comment made by a ruling party leader that the �third party� involved in the violence during the anti-CAA protests is the Congress, Saikia said, �I assert that it is the government who is deploying agents to derail the anti-CAA movement. The Congress has never supported violence and will never do so. On December 10 itself, I had appealed for non-violent protests and this appeared in the newspapers. Whosoever is indulging in violence should be punished. As far as stoking of violence is concerned, even my vehicle was damaged by some miscreants.�
