Guwahati, Oct 10: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has suspended two party leaders for reportedly taking part in the BJP government-sponsored programme – “Amrit Kalash Yatra.”
According to an order issued by the APCC on Tuesday, Matia Block Congress president under Goalpara district Congress committee Aynul Hoque Choudhury and Goalpara district Mahila Congress president Afruza Begum have been suspended on the basis of news of the their participation in the government-sponsored programme, which was aired on electronic media by Goalpara East MLA A.K Rasheed Alam.
“By taking part in this government-sponsored PR programme, you both have caused huge damage to the party and disillusioned lakhs of party workers. Therefore, as directed by Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah, Matia BCC president Aynul Hoque Choudhury and Goalpara District Mahila Congress president Afruza Begum are suspended from the party with immediate effect,” the suspension order read.
Expressing resentment against Congress leaders taking part in the “Amrit Kalash Yatra”, the party referred to a recent speech of Assam chief minister when he had “invited” a Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh to “burn down” 10 Janpath, the residence of former AICC president Sonia Gandhi, in the way Lanka was burnt. Besides, the party also cited, in the suspension letter, the instance of the Assam chief minister recently questioning the DNA of party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Last week, the state Congress had issued showcause notices to two of its MLAs – Bhaskarjyoti Baruah and Abdul Batin Khandakar – for taking part in the ‘Amrit Kalash Yatra’ recently.
Baruah is an MLA from the Titabar constituency in Jorhat district, while Khandakar won the North Abhayapuri Assembly seat on a Congress ticket.
Both the MLAs claimed that the ‘Amrit Kalash Yatra’ was a part of the ‘Meri Maati, Mera Desh’ programme, a state government initiative, which is why they had participated in it.
The legislators had further claimed that there was no directive from the Congress not to take part in the programme.
However, Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah said that while there was no directive issued from the party, “it is a well-known fact that the ‘Amrit Kalash Yatra’ is an initiative launched by the BJP, and as Opposition MLAs, they should have stayed away from it.”
IANS
