Was asked to join RSS and become Assam Minister in jail, Akhil Gogoi claims in letter

SIVASAGAR: Peasants' rights activist and Sivasagar election candidate Akhil Gogoi penned a letter in which he states that he was promised bail if he chose to become a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP's ideological mentor.

"In a jail in Guwahati, I was first given the knowledge of the Hindutva ideology. Thereafter, they tried to tempt me. I was told that I would be granted bail if I joined the RSS. When I objected to this demand, I was told that I would be let go even if I joined the BJP. They said that I should contest the election from an empty Assembly seat and become a Minister of Assam. However, I voiced out against PM Modi and Amit Shah and dissented against fascism and selling out of the country," Gogoi added in his sensational letter.

The 'Raijor Dal' leader further claimed that he was asked to leave the life of 'agitation' behind, and tender apologies for 'disrupting' the proposed visit of Japan PM Shinzo Abe.

Akhil in his letter, penned against the backdrop of BJP and Congress' alleged attempt to sabotage his election campaign in Sivasagar, said that he was clandestinely transported to New Delhi where he was locked up in the NIA headquarter's lock-up no. 1.

Gogoi further said that his refusal to these demands did not go down too well with the authorities, and they threatened to have him killed.

ALSO READ: 11% candidates in Phase-2 of Assam election have declared criminal records: ADR report

"On December 15 (2019) a marathon interrogation was carried out. I was asked many questions, mainly political in nature. I was told how the Muslims have ruined the country and that by bringing Hindu-Bangladeshis they seek to save the country. I was told that opposing the CAA means taking the side of Muslims which is treason," Gogoi added in his letter, shedding further light on circumstances post his arrest while the anti-CAA agitation raged across Assam.

He further alleged that he was never once asked about his alleged association with 'maoists', due to which he was originally locked up.

Gogoi in his note also lambasted claims that he is working as a 'BJP agent' or a 'Congress agent' in Sivasagar and claimed that both parties are culpable of carrying out 'misinformation' campaigns against him in Sivasagar, where he is contesting as an Independent.

"In a minority-dominated area in Sivasagar district, some Congress workers distributed pamphlets urging me to vote for them. The next day, they went back to the village and sought the pamphlets back, stating that I would join the BJP if I won," Akhil said in his letter.

Stating another example of 'false propaganda' against him, the peasant leader said that BJP workers had urged Muslim voters to vote for Gogoi stating that he is "their man."

"Neither the Congress nor the BJP wants the indigenous Muslims of Sivasagar to vote for me as if they do, Akhil Gogoi's victory is certain," the Sivasagar candidate asserted.

The 2021 Assam Legislative Assembly election is the 15th quinquennial legislative assembly election scheduled to be held in Assam from March 27 to April 6 in three phases, to elect 126 MLAs to the 15th Assam Legislative Assembly.