Guwahati: The Assam Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, accusing him of attempting to equate Ajan Fakir with the revered Vaishnavite reformer Srimanta Sankardeva, a move the party termed as an assault on Assam’s civilisational and cultural foundations.
Addressing a press conference at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhawan, Assam BJP spokesperson Jayanta Kumar Goswami alleged that Gogoi’s remarks were driven by “appeasement politics” and warned the Congress leader against what he described as a deliberate effort to dilute the unparalleled legacy of Sankardeva and his disciple Madhavdeva.
“The Sankar–Madhav tradition laid the spiritual, cultural and social foundation of Assamese society by firmly establishing Vaishnavism across Assam and the Northeast.
Any attempt to place Ajan Fakir on the same pedestal is not only historically misleading but also an insult to Assam’s civilisational ethos,” Goswami said.
He accused the Congress and what he termed the “Left ecosystem” of trying to forcibly merge Ajan Fakir with Sankardeva in the collective consciousness of Assamese society, thereby undermining Sankardeva’s contributions and tarnishing his revered image.
According to the BJP spokesperson, such attempts amount to an attack on Assam’s cultural identity.
Goswami further alleged that Gogoi’s politics were “anti-Vaishnav and anti-Assamese culture,” claiming that the Congress leader was ignoring the legacy of iconic figures who shaped Assam’s history and identity.
“This land belongs to Sankar–Madhav, Suikapha–Naranarayan, Jyoti–Bishnu, Lachit–Chilarai, Bhimbor Deuri–Upendranath Brahma, Sati Sadhini–Kanaklata, and many others who sacrificed and contributed to Assam. Erasing their legacy for vote-bank politics is unacceptable,” he said.
The BJP spokesperson also alleged that in an attempt to politically outmanoeuvre AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Gogoi had not hesitated to make statements that, according to the BJP, insult the Sankar–Madhav tradition.
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He went on to accuse the Congress of harbouring designs to polarise society for electoral gains ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections.
Raising concerns over the Congress party’s strategy, Goswami claimed that responsibility for the 2026 polls had been handed over to Congress leader Imran Masood, alleging that the move was aimed at consolidating a specific vote base.
He further referred to controversial statements attributed to Masood in the past, accusing the Congress of importing divisive politics into Assam.
Calling upon the people of the state to remain “alert and vigilant,” Goswami said Assam’s cultural harmony and indigenous identity must be protected from what he described as conspiracies to create religious polarisation.
The Congress party has not yet issued a response to the BJP’s allegations.
