Himanta says Gaurav Gogoi ‘did not have the guts’ to expel Rejaul Karim Sarkar

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has sharply criticised Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, saying he lacked the courage to act against Rejaul Karim Sarkar, who recently resigned from the party.

Commenting on the sudden exit, Sarma said, “Rejaul Karim Sarkar’s resignation is secondary. The primary factor is that APCC president Gaurav Gogoi should have banned him from the party in the first place. Now he has resigned, declared himself martyred, and gone to the village claiming himself to be a big hero. Earlier, he told the public to convert Sivasagar into Dhubri. As a Congress MP, Gaurav Gogoi should have removed him from the party but he failed to do so. We wanted him expelled, but Gaurav Gogoi did not have the guts.”

Sarma’s remarks underline ongoing concerns over party discipline in the Assam Congress, especially regarding controversial statements and actions by its leaders. Rejaul Karim Sarkar’s brief stint in the party has sparked political debate, raising questions about the APCC leadership’s handling of dissenting voices.

Also Read: From entry to exit: 60 hours of Rejaul Karim Sarkar in Congress. What went wrong

On January 14, 2026, just 60 hours after joining the party, Rejaul Karim Sarkar resigned from Congress. 

In his resignation letter to Gaurav Gogoi, Sarkar cited “deep ideological and moral differences” with senior party leaders, specifically naming Debabrata Saikia and Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi, whom he described as “BJP agents” undermining the party from within. Sarkar said that the conduct of these leaders had demoralised him, tarnished his public image, and made it impossible for him to continue within the party.

The brief tenure of Rejaul Karim Sarkar in Congress highlights a combination of missteps: the lack of thorough vetting before induction, inadequate briefing on public communication, and insufficient internal coordination to manage potentially sensitive statements in a socially and politically charged environment. Sarkar’s remarks, the party’s delayed response, and visible internal disagreements created a perfect storm, forcing a rapid exit and raising questions about Congress’s strategy in engaging minority youth leaders ahead of the elections.