Raijor Dal president and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi launched a sharp attack on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, alleging that the recent report on granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities has been prepared only to secure votes in the coming elections. Speaking to reporters, Gogoi said the Chief Minister was trying to win support “by putting a tupi and a japi on the six communities” without giving any real solution to their long-pending demand.
Gogoi said the Himanta Biswa Sarma government and the Narendra Modi-led central government had earlier promised that ST status would be granted to the six communities within six months. “So many years have passed, and today they are bringing this report only to fool the people,” he said. According to him, the report lacks seriousness and has been prepared only for political benefit. He called it “a false report meant to mislead the six communities.”
The Sivasagar MLA also claimed that he repeatedly asked for a discussion on the issue inside the Assam Legislative Assembly but said ministers and ruling MLAs “avoided the debate.” “Why did they run away?” he questioned. He also criticised the Chief Minister’s earlier statements about providing land rights to the people of Assam, asking what had been done for the tea tribe community. Gogoi alleged that “all BJP ministers, including the Chief Minister, are lying to the people.” 
Commenting on the violence at the BTC Secretariat earlier in the day, Gogoi said the situation was a result of “failures of the BJP government.” He said the government had created anger among existing tribes and among the six communities seeking ST status by “giving them hope and then confusing them with a misleading report.” He also alleged that while tensions were rising in Assam, the Chief Minister had “run away to Mumbai.”
Gogoi warned that if the recommendations in the report lead to any protest or unrest in Assam, the responsibility would lie with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He added that the government should take full responsibility for the current tension and act with honesty instead of “playing with people’s emotions.”
