The Congress on Thursday alleged that the BJP and its senior leader Himanta Biswa Sarma has no regard for democracy or the Election Commission.
“With all the blackmailing and threatening, BJP is trying to win an election not by the people’s support but by breaking its opponents. This is the lowest level of democracy that the BJP can stoop to,” Congress leader Manish Tewari and Gourav Vallabh said in a statement.
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Congress party’s statement comes hours after a candidate from Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF), a partner of the opposition Congress-led grand alliance, joined the saffron party on Thursday.
Rangja Khungur Basumatary, who is contesting the Assam Assembly election from Tamulpur seat on BPF ticket, joined the BJP in a meeting at Tamulpur on Thursday.
“Neither BJP nor Himanta Biswa Sarma has any regard for democracy or the Election Commission. The chronology of the BJP’s sinister actions is clear- first they lie, then they intimidate opponents, then they blackmail…,” the Congress party said in the statement.
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The Congress alleged that minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is trying to break the opposition alliance.
“After openly blackmailing and threatening Hagrama Mohilary, Sarma has once again been caught in trying to break the opposition candidates,” said Tiwari.
The Congress demanded that call records of Basumatary for the last seven days be made public so that people understand the series of events that led to the BPF leader joining BJP.
Sarma is hell-bent on betraying people’s trust and mandate, added the Congress leader.
“After the second phase, as the Congress Grand Alliance inches towards the majority figure in Assam, a rejected and dejected BJP is trying all tricks in the book,” he said.
A delegation of Congress-led Mahajot (Grand alliance) leaders will meet the Election Commission to request the poll panel for disqualification of Sarma from both contesting and further campaigning in the Assam Assembly elections 2021 and deferment of elections on the Tamulpur assembly constituency.
“They can already sense that they are losing people’s support at a rapid rate. We request the Election Commission to take notice of this incident too as Sarma is a repeat offender of the Model Code of Conduct,” said Congress.