GUWAHATI: In a collective voice of dissent, a group of 100 journalists, intellectuals, and prominent figures in Assam have denounced the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government for the recent spate of attacks on the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra in the state, on Thursday.
In a statement, undersigned by 100 individuals including former Assam Director General of Police HareKrishna Deka, theatre doyen Kuladakumar Bhattacharjya and 98 others, they have condemned the government’s alleged attempts to disrupt the yatra.
“The yatra started peacefully from troubled Manipur. It passed peacefully through Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh without any interruption. But it was only in Assam that the yatra was repeatedly attacked. We condemn the attacks on the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and demand that those who indulged in it should be arrested and punished as per the provision of law,” the statement said.
The prominent figures also accused the government of employing various tactics to halt the yatra, highlighting instances where journalists covering the event were allegedly assaulted, and their equipment and vehicles were vandalised by miscreants.
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“In some places, the yatra was even attacked by some miscreants. They vandalised the vehicles of the journalists accompanying the yatra and snatched their cameras. While all of this was happening, the police remained silent spectators,” the statement lamented.
The collective disapproval extended to recent controversial remarks by Chief Minister Sarma, who publicly criticised renowned scholar Dr Hiren Gohain, dismissing his writings as “full of anarchy.”
The intellectuals expressed deep concern over the Chief Minister’s language and behaviour, citing threats against Dr Akhil Ranjan Dutta, a professor at Gauhati University, for expressing his views on the matter.
“To us, the language and behaviour of the Chief Minister are most shocking. Freedom of speech is crucial for a person. This is a universal right and fundamental for democracy. We are saddened by the behaviour of the Chief Minister, and we strongly disapprove of it,” the statement read.
