Himanta Biswa Sarma condemns Samaguri violence: Congress desperate to hold on to vote bank

The firing incident that disrupted a BJP rally in Assam's Samaguri and left MLA Jitu Goswami injured met with strong condemnation from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who lashed out at the Congress party for resorting to violence ahead of the by-polls.

Taking to his official X handle, the Assam CM condemned the attack and questioned the Congress party's hypocrisy, highlighting their habit of 'proudly holding up the Constitution for the cameras'. 

Sarma stated, "This is the same Congress that proudly holds up the Constitution for the cameras, yet resorts to violence under cover of darkness to intimidate our karyakartas."

The chief minister further questioned, "Why has Congress stooped to such depths in this by-election?"

He slammed the party for its desperate attempts to cling to power and maintain its vote bank by resorting to violent activities aimed at instilling fear among the people.

"The real question is, why has Congress stooped to such depths in this by-election? It’s not just fear of defeat but the desperation to hold on to their core vote bank that drives them to such extremes," he added. 

Furthermore, Chief Minister Himanta stressed the need to protect the democratic process of the country, stating, "Justice will be served, and we will not allow anyone to sabotage or undermine our democratic process."

Earlier, a firing incident disrupted a BJP rally that was moving from Magurmari to Latani in Assam's Samaguri on November 9 evening. 

The march, which was attended by Barhampur constituency MLA Jitu Goswami and BJP leader Suresh Borah, turned chaotic when unidentified miscreants opened fire, resulting in multiple injuries and raising concerns ahead of the upcoming polls.

Senior police officials reached the spot and launched an investigation to identify the perpetrators and prevent further violence. The incident has since sparked heated political discourse and finger-pointing between rival parties.