The political debate over polygamy in Assam has taken a sharper turn, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Assam openly criticising the BJP government, Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) leadership, and Assam State Commission for Women chairperson Angoorlata Deka. The party accused the ruling side of “double standards” and “confusing the public” on a sensitive social issue.
The latest controversy began after actress-turned-politician Angoorlata Deka said that people who marry more than once are “mentally ill.” Her comment came shortly after the Assam Assembly passed the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, which seeks to punish anyone entering a second marriage without dissolving the first one legally.
Even though the government had been speaking loudly about women’s rights in the Assembly, the issue took a new turn when BJP leader and BTC Executive Member Khampa Borgoyari reportedly held a second marriage ceremony in Kokrajhar on the same day the bill was meant to protect women and restrict polygamy across Assam.
This incident triggered strong reactions on social media and from opposition parties. 
AAP Assam released a sharp statement saying, “Blind devotees! Don’t assume this is what your leader actually said. One leader says one thing and another says something else. Now who is actually mentally unstable? Let the public decide.”
The party accused BJP and BTC leaders of preaching one thing in public while doing something entirely different in their own political circles.
Earlier, Angoorlata Deka had praised Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for passing the bill, calling it a major step to protect women in Assam. She said the bill would help reduce crimes against women and empower them. She thanked the Chief Minister on behalf of the “women of Assam” and called the law “the need of the hour.”
However, her strong words against polygamy now stand in clear contrast to statements made by BTC authorities.
Just two days before the controversy, BTC Chief Executive Member Hagrama Mohilary announced that polygamy is legally allowed in the BTC region. According to him, the council has decided that a man may marry two wives, stating that this reflects the local social traditions and practices in the Sixth Schedule areas, which include BTC, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao.
Mohilary said the decision was taken at the cabinet level and added that he cannot say whether it is right or wrong, since the policy was announced by the government itself. His remarks exposed a clear conflict between the positions taken by the Assam government in the Assembly and the decisions within the autonomous tribal council.
While the BJP government in Dispur claims it wants to ban polygamy to protect women, its own allies and leaders in BTC are introducing rules that go in the opposite direction.
Mohilary also used the occasion to announce that his party, the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), will support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2026 Assam Assembly elections. He said the NDA is “well-positioned” to form the next government and that allied parties like AGP and smaller regional groups will contest together in Lower Assam.
But AAP has called this alliance nothing more than a “political drama” to mislead voters, saying the ruling camp cannot even maintain a common stand on a basic social issue.
Opposition parties note that the BJP leadership often tries to present itself as a defender of women’s rights, but incidents like the second marriage of a top BTC leader, along with conflicting announcements on the legality of polygamy, paint a very different picture.
They argue that the government talks about empowering women in public but fails to ensure meaningful accountability within its own leadership.
