Gaurav Gogoi says BJP turncoats become ‘insignificant’, calls Himanta Biswa Sarma ‘Assam’s Jinnah’

Gaurav Gogoi on February 18 asserted that leaders who have switched to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party eventually become “insignificant” in their political careers, taking a swipe at those leaving the Congress ahead of the upcoming Assam Assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference, the Assam Congress president said former state party chief Bhupen Kumar Borah, who is reportedly set to join the BJP on February 22, would meet a similar fate. Gogoi maintained that several leaders who defected to the BJP had faded from political prominence.

“Those who joined the BJP have become insignificant. We can see the example of Sarbananda Sonowal and many more. The Asom Gana Parishad is on the verge of extinction. I don’t think I need to talk specifically about Bhupen Borah’s joining the BJP,” Gogoi said.

He further claimed that the electoral contest in the state would be between the “real Congress and the old Congress,” alleging that the BJP was filled with former Congress leaders who were “most corrupt” during the party’s 15-year rule in Assam.

Reacting to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma describing Borah as the “last Hindu leader” in the Congress, Gogoi accused Sarma of attempting to polarise politics in the state. He alleged that the BJP leader was acting as “Assam’s Jinnah” and urged him to stop issuing “Hindu certificates” to politicians.

Emphasising the Congress party’s legacy, Gogoi said, “The Congress is like an ocean; we are all just water drops in it. The Congress was there long before our fathers and forefathers existed. Bhupen Borah’s leaving will not impact our party’s prospects in the Assembly polls.”