News Analysis India

Tag: Raijor Dal

  • Third Eye: Kerala leaders’ pain in Delhi, Badruddin Ajmal in sweet mood, and Sanjay Raut’s theory

    From Boiling Point to Rain Relief: Both BJP and Congress leaderships had brought their respective party leaders from Kerala to Delhi to campaign among the Malayalee pockets of the national capital. While these Kerala functionaries did their job, most of them wilted due to Delhi’s unfamiliar simmering summer and heat wave. Done with their job, some of them said the biggest relief was the certain prospect of returning to the torrential downpour lashing across Kerala.

    Already in ‘Sweet Mood’: Looks like AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal believes in early celebrations. Confident of victory, he is preparing a list of people to whom he will send packets of sweets. Seeking re-election from Dhubri, Ajmal is pitted against Congress’ Rakibul Hussain. Ajmal, who is an MP since 2009, said that the largest packets would be sent to MLA and Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi and AJP leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi. Both are Congress allies. He said the packets will also be sent to Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah.

    Who is Lying? Game on: Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has claimed in his weekly column in ‘Saamana’ that BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, at the behest of the PM and Amit shah, has helped Congress’ Vikas Thakre to defeat Union minister Nitin Gadkari. While BJP leaders and even Thakre have slammed Raut, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar took on Raut with an interesting word play. He claimed that Raut always had a habit of lying, but it has now become an ‘addiction’. Mungantiwar added that due to his ‘fertile imagination’, Raut was churning out such ‘barren ideas’.

  • ‘Did not earn a single penny’: Assam CM’s wife rubbishes PPE kits ‘scam’ charges

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI:  The Opposition in Assam is demanding a probe into allegations of corruption involving CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s family.

    The Raijor Dal said a firm, owned by Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, had bagged an “urgent” order for supply of 5,000 PPE kits in March 2020, when Sarma was the health minister.

    Referring to a media report, the party asked why the firm was awarded the contract at Rs 990 per kit when another firm was given Rs 600 for the same.

    The report said the firm, owned by Riniki, makes sanitary napkins and has no history of supplying medical equipment. As per the report, two other firms with links to Sarma were given “urgent” orders to fight the pandemic but none of them completed them.

    “We demand a CBI probe, and ban on the firms,” Raijor Dal leader Vasco De Saikia said.

    Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah said “people are stunned” that while they suffered, Sarma’s kin got into the business of Covid-related items to mint money.

    Riniki dismissed the charges as “unfounded”, and tweeted, “I did not take a single penny out of this supply. I have always been transparent about my belief in giving back to society, irrespective of my husband’s political standing.” 

  • Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal names second candidate for Assam bypoll

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: Opposition Raijor Dal on Friday announced its second candidate among the five assembly seats in Assam, where bypolls will take place on October 30.

    Addressing a press conference here, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi said his party’s nominee Sanjib Gogoi will contest for the Mariani seat in the upcoming byelections.

    The party has fielded Dhaijya Konwar from the Thowra assembly constituency.

    “Sanjib Gogoi will contest the Mariani seat. It is my home constituency and we are very sure to win it,” the party president said.

    Asked about the possible association with the Congress, Gogoi said, “We were the first to propose one opposition candidate to defeat the BJP, but the Congress did not show any interest. When we have announced our candidates, then they are offering us one seat.”

    He said his party will not leave Thowra seat but is ready to consider the Congress’ proposal if they get support in the constituency.

    “If they (Congress) support us, then we will campaign for them in the remaining four seats,” Gogoi said.

    Thowra and Mariani seats were bagged by the Congress in the assembly polls held earlier this year, but the MLAs resigned and joined the ruling BJP.

    The other three constituencies, which are going for polls, are Bhabanipur, Tamulpur and Gossaigaon.

    The Majuli seat also fell vacant, but the election will not be held this time as its representative, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, had resigned from the House just hours after the bypoll schedule was announced by the Election Commission on September 28.

    Akhil Gogoi is the lone legislator from the Raijor Dal in the assembly and was elected as an Independent.

    The Assam Congress on Friday announced that it will contest four seats out of six, where bypolls will be held in the days to come, and left one constituency each to the Raijor Dal and the Assam Jatiya Parishad.

    The two regional parties, which had contested the March-April assembly elections separately from the Congress-led grouping, have not finalised their decisions to accept the offer from the grand old party.

    Meanwhile, the CPI, which was a part of the Congress-led Grand Alliance during the assembly elections, fielded Krishna Gogoi from Thowra.

    The Congress, which was in power for 15 years in Assam since 2001, had formed the Grand Alliance with the AIUDF, BPF, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM), RJD, Adivasi National Party (ANP) and Jimochayan (Deori) Peoples Party (JPP) to fight against the BJP-led NDA in the assembly election this year.

    In the 126-member Assam assembly, the BJP’s strength at present is 59.

    The ruling allies — the AGP and the UPPL has nine and five MLAs respectively, while the Congress has 27 legislators, the AIUDF has 15 members, the BPF has three and the CPI(M) has one.

    There is one Independent member.

  • Congress to leave one seat each to AJP, Raijor Dal in Assam bypolls

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: The Assam Congress on Friday announced that it will contest four out of the six seats where by-poll will take place in the coming months and left one seat each to Raijor Dal (RD) and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP).

    The two regional parties, which had formed an alliance and contested the March-April Assembly election separately from the Congress-led grouping, have not finalised their decision to accept the offer of the grand old party.

    “Our three different committees met today and arrived at a decision to put up a united opposition candidate in each constituency to defeat the communal BJP. So Congress will fight in four seats,” Assam Congress President Bhupen Borah told PTI.

    The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee has decided to offer one seat each to AJP and RD, he added.

    Asked which seats will be offered to the two regional parties, Borah said it will be finalised once the two parties accept Congress’ offer.

    By-election will take place in Thowra, Mariani, Bhabanipur, Tamulpur and Gossaigaon on October 30.

    The Majuli seat is also vacant but the by-poll in it will not be held this time as its MLA, union minister Sarbananda Sonowal resigned from the Assembly just hours after the poll schedule was announced by the Election Commission.

    Thowra and Mariani seats were bagged by Congress during the Assembly poll but the MLAs resigned and joined the ruling BJP.

    A senior APCC leader had said on Thursday that the party is willing to leave the Majuli or Mariani seat to AJP.

    RD had announced on Wednesday that it will contest Thowra and Mariani seats and announced the names of both the candidates.

    Meanwhile, CPI, which was a part of the Congress-led Grand Alliance during the Assembly poll, has announced fielding Krishna Gogoi from Thowra.

    The Congress, which was in power for 15 years in Assam since 2001, had formed a ‘Grand Alliance’ with AIUDF, BPF, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM), RJD, Adivasi National Party (ANP) and Jimochayan (Deori) Peoples Party (JPP) to fight against the BJP-led NDA in the Assembly election this year.

    In the 126-member Assam Assembly, the BJP’s strength at present is 59.

    The ruling allies — the AGP has nine and UPPL has five MLAs, while the Congress’ strength is 27, AIUDF has 15 members, BPF has three and CPI(M) has one MLAs.

    There is one Independent MLA.

  • Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal to contest two seats in Assam by-polls

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: Opposition party Raijor Dal (RD) on Wednesday said that it will contest two out of five assembly seats in Assam where by-elections will be held on October 30.

    Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi said that the party has decided to contest Thowra and Mariani seats and hopes to win both.

    The two constituencies were bagged by Congress but its MLAs later resigned and switched over to the BJP.

    “Dhaijya Konwar will contest Thowra on behalf of RD, and we will declare our Mariani candidate soon,” he told reporters.

    He also appealed to the Congress, with whom RD had tried to project common candidates for the by-polls to defeat the ruling NDA, to support their nominees.

    “If the Congress supports us, we will campaign for them in the remaining four seats,” Gogoi said.

    By-election will also be held in three other seats in Assam — Bhabanipur, Tamulpur and Gossaigaon.

    Though Majuli is also vacant, by-poll will not be held there this time as Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal resigned from the MLA’s post just hours before the schedule was announced by the EC.

    Gogoi is the lone RD legislator in the 126-member assembly, and he was elected as an Independent.

    The BJP now has 59 MLAs, while its allies AGP has nine, and UPPL has five legislators.

    Congress has 27 lawmakers, AIUDF 15, BPF three and CPI(M) has one member in the House.

  • After AIUDF’s exit, activist-turned-politician Akhil Gogoi meets Rahul Gandhi for alliance in Assam

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Assam activist-turned-politician Akhil Gogoi met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday for an alliance between his Raijor Dal and the grand old party.

    Recently, an already weakened Congress severed its ties with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), protesting the leaders of the minority-based party singing paeans of ruling BJP and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

    Gogoi sees this as an opportunity to fill up the vacuum created by the AIUDF by offering the Congress his support to ensure that his fledgling Raijor Dal could ride piggyback on the banner of the national party.

    The Congress and the AIUDF were two key components of a grand alliance of Opposition or “Mahajot”. It was formed ahead of last elections to defeat the BJP.

    The Congress’s state leadership is averse to a political alignment with Raijor Dal and made it known in no uncertain terms. However, Gogoi still met Gandhi to try and secure the alliance.

    “I met Rahul Gandhi and Mukul Wasnik. We discussed how we (opposition parties) can fight to restore the federal structure of the country, the recently-held Assam elections and the upcoming by-elections in the state,” Gogoi, who is Raijor Dal’s lone MLA, told journalists.

    ALSO READ | Don’t weaken ‘Mahajot’, AIUDF tells Congress after being removed from alliance in Assam

    Praising Gandhi for his political maturity and experience, he said the Congress duo had clearly stated that there should be an understanding.

    “Since the Congress high command favours the alliance, the party’s state leadership has to accept it. If they do so, the BJP will be uprooted in Assam,” Gogoi asserted, adding, “If the BJP is to be defeated, we have to unite. We will defeat BJP in upper Assam.”

    The Congress’s state president Bhupen Kumar Borah, who left for Delhi on Thursday, told this newspaper that the state unit would abide by the decision of the party’s central leaders.

    “I will meet all top leaders of our party and apprise them how he (Akhil Gogoi) attempted to belittle the Congress in public with his statements such as ‘Congress is a setting sun’, ‘Congress cannot do well under Rahul Gandhi’ etc,” Borah said.

    He added that the Congress workers were unhappy over such remarks.

    One reason behind the Congress’s defeat in the last elections was its dismal performance in Assamese-majority upper Assam where a strong sentiment of Assamese sub-nationalism works and where people view the AIUDF as the protector of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

    The Congress-AIUDF poll tie-up had helped the minority-based party more than the grand old party.

  • Himanta most communal, divisive CM in history of Assam: Akhil Gogoi

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: Hitting out at Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over the cow protection bill, MLA Akhil Gogoi said he will be remembered as the “most communal and divisive CM” in the history of Assam.

    Addressing a press conference here, Gogoi apologised to the people of Assam for not being able to stop the passage of the bill as he was the lone MLA from his Raijor Dal.

    “When the bill was passed on August 13, I could not sleep that night. This is a devastating act, which will destroy the communal harmony among people and ruin the rural economy.”

    “Assam will remember Himanta Biswa Sarma as the most communal and divisive CM. He is the most dangerous CM and the people of Assam are not safe under his rule,” Gogoi alleged.

    He equated the passing of the bill with the demolition of Babri Masjid and said both are equally dangerous incidents for destroying the Hindu-Muslim unity of the country.

    On August 13, the Assembly passed The Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021, seeking to ban cattle slaughter and sale of beef in the areas where Hindus, Jains and Sikhs are in a majority or within a five-kilometre radius of a temple or satra (Vaishnavite monasteries) or any other institution as may be prescribed by the authorities.

    Gogoi also alleged that Sarma misquoted Mahatma Gandhi during his speech while passing the bill.

    “He (Sarma) lied in the House in reference to Mahatma Gandhi’s statements. Has he not killed Mahatma Gandhi again? Why should we not call him the second Nathuram Godse?” Gogoi said.

    Stating that banning beef will hurt the freedom of choice of food, the MLA apologised to the people, especially Muslims and Christians, for not being able to stop the passage of the legislation.

    “This bill is going to destroy the rural economy and will lead to severe inflation. We have already seen price rise in other meats, eggs and fish after the bill was introduced. All dairy farmers will be impacted by this as they will not be able to sell their non-milking cows for slaughter.”

    “The market involved with purchase and sale of cows will be severely impacted. The size of this market is Rs 20,000-30,000 crore, most of which is in rural areas. Now, this will be impacted,” he claimed.

    Though the BJP-led government has brought in the Act to hit the Muslim community, in the end, it will hit hard the indigenous Hindu people of the state who are dependent on the cattle economy, Gogoi asserted.

    Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister Atul Bora on August 4 had informed the Assembly that Assam produced 33.68 lakh kg of cattle meat and 1.59 lakh kg of buffalo meat during 2019-20 out of a total meat production of 5.3 crore kg.

    Bora had said as per the 20th Livestock Census in 2019, Assam has a cattle population of 1.09 crore and buffalo population of 4.22 lakh.

  • Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi says he admires Mamata but turns down TMC’s merger offer

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Assam activist and MLA Akhil Gogoi said his party Raijor Dal had decided against merging itself with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) as proposed by the latter.

    “We had three rounds of discussions with the TMC and I took part in each one of them. TMC leaders and election strategist Prashant Kishor were there. They had requested me to lead the TMC’s Assam unit as president. However, as we are working towards emerging as a regional force, we never thought of merging our party with another party,” Gogoi told journalists in Guwahati on Monday.

    He said the TMC had made the offer based on Kishor’s survey.

    ALSO READ: Akhil Gogoi to join Opposition ranks? Activist gets call to merge party with Trinamool as Raijor Dal seals deal with Congress in Assam

    “West Bengal’s PWD and Law Minister had told me Prashant Kishore had undertaken a comprehensive survey of Assam. The minister said Kishore had stated Raijor Dal is an emerging political party and if an alternative to BJP has to be worked out, it has to be by taking Raijor Dal and Akhil Gogoi along,” the activist said.

    He said Raijor Dal is a regional party which represents the aspirations of the people of Assam. He said the party discussed the TMC’s offer threadbare and decided against merger.

    “We have decided to send a proposal to the TMC. We want to remain as a regional force and work with the TMC and other regional political parties to secure federalism. The BJP is trying to break the country’s federal structure,” Gogoi alleged.

    He said TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the leader that he admires the most among politicians for consistently speaking for federalism.

    “I admire Mamata Banerjee the most among politicians. We will work under her leadership for a federal structure. If the regional forces in the country project her as the prime ministerial candidate in 2024, we will support it,” the activist said.

  • Akhil Gogoi to join Opposition ranks? Activist gets call to merge party with Trinamool as Raijor Dal seals deal with Congress in Assam

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI:  Activist and Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi on Sunday said an effort was being made to form a confederation of regional parties led by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to try and oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP from power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    “Our interest is that all regional political parties in the country should unite, form a confederation, project Mamata Banerjee as its leader, unseat the fascist and communal Narendra Modi and elect a new PM in 2024,” Gogoi, who recently visited Kolkata, told journalists in Guwahati.

    “We hope the confederation of regional parties will be formed as early as possible,” he said.

    The Raijor Dal MLA said the formation of a confederation of regional parties will also help federalism. 

    “The people of Assam have been fighting for federalism and a federal structure from before independence,” Gogoi said.

    He disclosed that West Bengal CM had made an offer to him to join the TMC and merge Raijor Dal with it.

    “Mamata didi had invited me for a discussion. Their proposal was that Raijor Dal and I join the TMC at the earliest and become the TMC’s Assam unit president,” the activist said. He said his party would discuss the proposal and take a call.

    “We thank Mamata didi that she invited us three times. Our leaders already had discussions with TMC leaders,” he added.

    “We aim to form a confederation of regional forces and project Mamata Banerjee as its leader to remove the Narendra Modi government from power in 2024,” he told reporters.

    Gogoi claimed that Banerjee has assured him of the TMC Assam unit president’s post if Raijor Dal is merged with the ruling party in West Bengal.

    He said that three rounds of talks between the TMC and Raijor Dal over the issue have already taken place, with the legislator visiting Kolkata for discussions.

    Assam TMC president Gopinath Das said that the talks were held in the West Bengal capital.

    “There were no talks with Raijor Dal in Assam. Madam (Mamata Banerjee) is pursuing it,” he said.

    The TMC does not have any MLA in the Assam assembly at present.

    Gogoi said that Raijor Dal’s efforts to form a confederation of regional parties is in keeping with its belief in the federal structure and the need to strengthen it.

    The Sibsagar MLA scripted history this year by becoming the first person in Assam to win an assembly election from behind the bars.

    Jailed since December 2019 for his alleged role in violent anti-CAA stir in the Assam, Gogoi walked out free on July 1 this year after a special NIA court cleared him of all charges.

    Meanwhile, Raijor Dal on Sunday held a meeting with Congress on forming an alliance to contest the upcoming Assembly by-polls and decided to jointly protest against “anti-people” policies of the BJP-led Assam government.

    Congress working presidents Rana Goswami and Jakir Hussain Sikdar visited the Raijor Dal’s headquarter in Guwahati to meet Gogoi and other senior leaders.

    “We decided to fight together from a single platform against all anti-people policies of the BJP. We will work together on any social problem,” Goswami told PTI after the meeting held on Sunday evening.

    The Congress wants to have a long-lasting relationship with the Raijor Dal, at least till the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, he added.

    “We also spoke about forming an alliance for the upcoming Assembly byelections. This is just a preliminary meeting and several more rounds will take place. The final decision of an alliance will be taken by the top state and central leaders,” Goswami said.

    By-elections are required in five Assembly seats due to deaths and resignations of legislators.

    Before the Assembly polls held earlier this year, both the parties had called for a united platform of all opposition parties to defeat the BJP, but Raijor Dal expressed its reservation in joining the Grand Alliance due to the presence of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in it.

    Commenting on Sunday’s meeting, Gogoi said that the Raijor Dal is ready to join the Grand Alliance provided the AIUDF exits the grouping.

    “Like the BJP, the AIUDF is also a communal force. Our stand is clear that we will not be in a platform where AIUDF is present,” he told reporters.

    Gogoi, the MLA of Sivasagar constituency, said that the Congress and the Raijor Dal must be united in order to defeat the BJP in the byelections.

    The Congress, which was in power for 15 years in Assam since 2001, formed a ‘Grand Alliance’ with AIUDF, BPF, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM), RJD, Adivasi National Party (ANP) and the Jimochayan (Deori) Peoples Party (JPP) to fight the BJP-led NDA in the Assembly election this year.

    In the 126-member Assam Assembly, the BJP bagged 60 seats, while its allies AGP won nine and UPPL six.

    In the opposition camp, the Congress won 29, AIUDF 16, BPF four and CPI(M) got one seat.

    The Raijor Dal secured one seat, Sivasagar, as Gogoi won as an Independent.

    One MLA each of United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) has died, while two Congress legislators have resigned to join the BJP.

    Former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who joined the Union Cabinet as a minister, is yet to submit his resignation paper in the Assembly, but is likely to do so in the coming days.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Effort being made for Mamata-led confederation of regional parties to oust BJP from Centre: Akhil Gogoi

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Activist and Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi on Sunday said an effort was being made for the formation of a confederation of regional parties in the country to try and oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP from power.

    “Our interest is that all regional political parties in the country should unite, form a confederation, project (Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee as its leader, unseat the fascist and communal Narendra Modi and elect a new PM in 2024,” Gogoi, who recently visited Kolkata, told journalists in Guwahati.

    “We hope the confederation of regional parties will be formed as early as possible,” he said.

    The Raijor Dal MLA said the initiative for the formation of the confederation of regional forces was also for federalism. He said an effort was being made towards this perspective.

    ALSO READ | TMC launches new slogan for Mamata Banerjee’s bypoll campaign from Bhowanipore constituency

    “The people of Assam have been fighting for federalism and a federal structure from before independence,” Gogoi said.

    He disclosed that the West Bengal CM had made an offer to him to join the TMC and merge Raijor Dal with it.

    “Mamata didi had invited me for a discussion. Their proposal was that Raijor Dal and I join the TMC at the earliest and become the TMC’s Assam unit president,” the activist said.

    He said his party would discuss the proposal and take a call. 

    “We thank Mamata didi that she invited us three times. Our leaders already had discussions with TMC leaders,” he added. 

    Raijor Dal was floated last year against the backdrop of the protests against controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Gogoi is the party’s lone MLA. He had won the elections from Sivasagar contesting as an Independent candidate.

    Asom Jatiya Parishad, another regional party floated against the backdrop of the anti-CAA protests, also contested the polls but drew a blank.