Guwahati: More than 200 artists, writers, intellectuals and other prominent citizens have urged Assam’s Opposition parties to set aside their differences and unite against what they described as the BJP government’s “misrule”.

In an appeal issued on behalf of the Asom Nagarik Sanmilan, the signatories expressed deep concern over the state’s recent political developments and criticised the Opposition for failing to seriously examine the reasons for its defeat in the recent Assembly elections.

The appeal said the Opposition had been expected to examine the reasons for its electoral setback, reorganise itself and reconnect with the people. Instead, it appeared to have limited itself to “the usual formalities”, it said.

The signatories also criticised the Opposition’s response to the devastating floods witnessed in Upper Assam this monsoon, describing the disaster as one of an exceptional scale within living memory.

While acknowledging that ordinary citizens, voluntary organisations and Opposition parties had provided relief to flood-affected people, the appeal said the role of political leadership should have extended beyond relief efforts.

The Opposition, it said, should have used the initial phase of the crisis, when the government’s response was “disappointing”, to demand accountability and press for an examination of the causes of recurrent flooding and a lasting solution.

Criticism of infighting

The appeal said the failure of the Opposition to act collectively was not confined to the flood crisis. It pointed to protests over land acquisition and other instances of alleged state action, where affected people had largely been left to lead the resistance.

The role of Opposition parties, and even that of civil society, had remained limited, the signatories said.

They also criticised the growing acrimony among Opposition parties. Referring to the Raijor Dal president’s attacks on the Congress and its leadership, the appeal said the Opposition had turned its attention to one another instead of holding the ruling party accountable for its failures.

The signatories also condemned the alleged abuse directed at noted intellectual Hiren Gohain by Raijor Dal workers over remarks he had made about the party’s president.

Gohain, the appeal said, is an adviser to the citizens’ forum and one of Assam’s eminent intellectuals. It questioned the manner in which the Raijor Dal workers had treated him.

The signatories also questioned the continued emphasis on “Congress-era corruption”. The Congress has been out of power at both the Centre and in Assam for more than a decade, the statement pointed out.

The pressing political issue, they argued, should instead be the BJP government’s record in office, which they described as one of “misrule” and “institutionalised corruption”.

Call to address ‘burning issues’

The appeal called upon Opposition parties to undertake an honest self-assessment and take what the signatories described as “conscientious decisions”.

This, the signatories said, is not the time for political rivalry or “point-scoring”. The immediate requirement is to overcome partisan divisions, bring together different sections of society and create a “popular awakening and unified mass movement” against BJP rule.

The signatories raised land acquisition, floods, rising prices, unemployment and the education crisis as issues requiring urgent political attention.

They alleged that the BJP government is usurping land belonging to indigenous people and Adivasi communities and handing it over to big corporations.

The appeal warned that continued infighting among Opposition parties, while these issues remain unaddressed, would carry a political cost.

“If the Opposition keeps quarrelling among itself while these burning issues go unaddressed, time will not forgive anyone,” it said.

The appeal was issued on behalf of the Assam Nagarik Sanmilan by Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, Paresh Malakar, Shantanu Borthakur and Abdul Mannan.