BJP is the "Coronavirus of Communalism", Says Former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi

Guwahati, March 13, 2020:

Tearing into the opposition BJP camp ahead of the Rajya Sabha election on March 26, 3-time former Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, said that the party is the "coronavirus of communalism".

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This is indeed a startling statement, considering the fact that the international pandemic has killed nearly 5,000 people worldwide and infected over 1 lakh.

Gogoi, speaking to the media in Guwahati during the filing of nomination of the AIUDF MLA, has claimed that the BJP is afraid. He said, "They are the coronavirus of communalism. They are trying to divide the nation into several parts. When they go to Barpeta, Dhubri, they claim it to be Bangladesh."

The former CM, speaking on the nomination of Ajit Kumar Bhuyan from the AIUDF-Congress, said that all the intellectuals, artistes, and political parties have also come together to "subdue" the BJP party through the nomination of the veteran. "Not only is Ajit Bhuyan the candidate of the Congress-AIUDF, he is also the candidate of those who believe in democracy, secularism. Not only for opposition to the CAA, we have also shaken hands with him to protect democracy and the principle of secularism", Tarun Gogoi added.

In general, Gogoi's attack on the BJP and its "communal tendencies" came in the wake of the party's enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act that uses religion as a criteria for giving out religion, and excludes Muslims from its ambit. This is a direct violation of the Indian Constitution (Article 15 secures the citizens from every sort of discrimination by the State, on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth or any of them.)

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Moreover, in the wake of the violent unrest in the Northeast against the CAA, the BJP started a series of pro-CAA rallies called Sankalp Yatra. In these rallies, Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has repeatedly accused the political opposition of attempting to facilitate the influx of illegal Muslim migrants from Bangladesh. In lower Assam, especially, he has alleged that there is a heavy influx of Muslims and has repeatedly knocked AIUDF leader and MP from Dhubri of being projected as Chief Ministerial candidate by "unnamed communal forces".

It is believed that the Congress-AIUDF coalition zeroed in on Bhuyan to tap into the anti-CAA sentiment in the State.

It may be mentioned here that the Opposition comprising the Congress with 23 MLAs and perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) with 14 MLAs can bag the third seat only if they field a consensus candidate and there is cross-voting. The BJP, that has 86 legislators, is confident of winning the two other seats. The three seats are to be vacated by Bhubaneswar Kalita, Sanjay Sinh and Biswajit Daimary in April. Kalita and Singh are former Congressmen who went on to join the BJP.

The Congress and the AIUDF, formed in 2005 after the Supreme Court scrapped the allegedly pro-foreigners Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act of 1983, have hardly been on the same page, but Congress leader Tarun Gogoi has opined that there is a need for the anti-CAA parties to join forces if the BJP is to be defeated on the political front.

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