Congress alleges BJP-police nexus, takes protest to DGP’s doorstep

Guwahati, April 17: A day after staging demonstrations against the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, the state Congress, on Thursday, accused the state police of intimidating its candidates ahead of the upcoming Panchayat elections.

Senior Congress leaders, including Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Borah and Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi, marched on foot to the office of Director General of Police (DGP) Harmeet Singh in Ulubari to raise concerns over what they described as politically motivated harassment of party candidates.

Upon reaching the DGP’s office, the leaders were stopped by security personnel and denied entry. In response, they staged a sit-in outside the premises.

Addressing the press, Bordoloi said he had written to the DGP on April 9, detailing incidents in districts like Nagaon and Morigaon where police allegedly acted at the behest of the BJP.

“This has become a pattern — newly inducted BJP members file FIRs against Congress functionaries, and the local police, especially some overzealous officer-in-charges, pressure our candidates to withdraw from the elections,” he said, citing a case from Jamunamukh in Nagaon district.

Bordoloi further said that despite assurances from the DGP, no action had been taken. “Shockingly, one of the officers we named in our complaint continues to operate as a BJP agent. Just yesterday, he picked up one of our candidates at 3 am based on a vague FIR filed by an unidentified person,” he alleged.

Joining the protest, APCC chief Bhupen Borah accused the police of acting as BJP campaigners. “For the past week, we’ve been alerting the DGP that police officers are threatening our candidates across the state. Instead of maintaining neutrality, the police are campaigning for the BJP,” Borah said outside the DGP’s office.

Borah further alleged that the trend is widespread. “In districts like Barpeta, Mangaldoi, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Dhemaji, and Lakhimpur, officer-in-charges have been threatening our candidates, urging them to withdraw their nominations. We have video evidence of these threats,” he claimed.

Later, the leaders were allowed inside the office but they couldn’t meet DGP Singh.

The Congress party has demanded immediate intervention from the DGP to ensure free and fair elections, warning that continued police interference could undermine democratic processes in the state.