Guwahati, Dec 22 (NationPress) Assam Congress President Bhupen Borah on Sunday asserted that a minimum of 18 senior leaders from the BJP are inclined to transition to the opposition party.
Borah stated: "Numerous leaders from the BJP have shown their readiness to affiliate with the Congress party. At least 18 senior BJP leaders are currently in communication with us. However, they have requested assurances regarding candidature in the upcoming Assembly elections."
The Congress leader mentioned that due to the high demand for tickets within the opposition party, assurances for tickets cannot be guaranteed to the BJP leaders contemplating the switch.
“We boast many dynamically capable individuals in our party, and they cannot be overlooked,” he added.
In a related development, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a Congress party worker.
Mridul Islam, aged 45, passed away earlier this week following his involvement in a Congress protest march to Raj Bhawan in Guwahati.
The Congress party has accused the police of using excessive tear gas to dissolve the protest, attributing this to Islam’s premature demise.
The state unit of Congress has filed a complaint against the police, asserting that their excessive use of tear gas shells contributed to Mridul Islam's passing.
According to the party, Islam was a member of the State Congress Legal Cell and worked as a lawyer.
Assam Congress general secretary Bipul Gogoi criticized the police for their indiscriminate deployment of tear gas, affecting everyone nearby, including the elderly, children, and those with respiratory issues, and claimed this was done without provocation.
The state Congress reports that Mridul Islam was one of many protesters who sustained injuries due to police actions, already exacerbated by the tear gas exposure.
"It is evident that the actions of the Assam Police were directly responsible for his unfortunate death. This FIR is being registered to demand immediate and stringent action against the police personnel responsible for their excessive and unlawful use of force that directly resulted in the death of an innocent citizen," Gogoi noted in his complaint.
Diganta Barah, Guwahati Commissioner of Police, denied the Congress party's assertions, indicating that the cause of Islam's death remains undetermined.
