Congress MP and Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, dismissing allegations made against him as “baseless” and accusing the BJP leader of diverting attention from key public concerns.
In a series of posts on X, Gogoi mocked Sarma’s recent media briefing, calling it the “most flop press conference of the century” and alleging it failed to convince both journalists and the public. He claimed reporters from Delhi and Assam were subjected to what he described as “mindless and bogus” assertions lacking substance.
The Congress leader argued that the press conference was an attempt to deflect from the Opposition’s #XomoyParivartanYatra campaign, which he said has raised questions about the alleged occupation of nearly 12,000 bighas, pproximately 4,000 acres, of prime land by the Chief Minister and his family. Gogoi demanded a detailed public explanation, stressing the need for accountability.
Escalating his attack, Gogoi said that if the Congress comes to power, it would take steps to reclaim such land and redistribute it among the poor and landless.
The remarks come amid an intensifying political confrontation in Assam. Hours after Gogoi earlier levelled the land-grab allegations at a Guwahati press conference on Wednesday, Sarma rejected the charges as “false, malicious and defamatory” and announced plans to initiate civil and criminal defamation proceedings on February 9 against Gogoi and three other Congress leaders.
Sarma challenged his accusers to prove their claims in court, asserting he would not be intimidated by “propaganda” or political theatrics, further deepening the ongoing war of words between the two leaders.
