'Dignity-for-jobs' row: Congress files police complaint against CM, no FIR yet
Lodging the complaint at Dispur Police station, Congress demanded that an FIR be registered under relevant sections of the BNS
Guwahati City District Congress Committee lodging the complaint at Dispur Police Station. (AT Photo)
Guwahati, May 1: The Guwahati City District Congress Committee, on Thursday, filed a formal police complaint against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his controversial "dignity-for-job" remark made during the ongoing Panchayat poll campaign.
The complaint, lodged at the Dispur Police Station, accuses the Chief Minister of making a “shameless and derogatory” statement that allegedly insults the dignity of women in Assam.
Congress leaders have demanded that an FIR be registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“It’s extremely unbecoming of a Chief Minister to make such a crass comment about the women of this state. He may have claimed the statement is based on the Biplab Sarma Committee report, but the report makes no such direct assertion,” said Rupa Kalita, a senior member of the Assam Mahila Congress.
The Congress has claimed in its complaint that Sarma’s remarks have caused “immense hurt” to the sentiments of women across the state and reflect a broader “disrespect towards the entire women community.”
As of Thursday afternoon, however, no FIR had been registered at the Dispur Police Station.
Speaking to The Assam Tribune, a Mahila Congress functionary said similar complaints will be filed in all 35 districts of the state over the next few days.
“We will not rest until accountability is ensured. This is not just about politics — it is about dignity and justice for women,” she asserted.
The controversy erupted after Sarma, during a campaign rally, alleged that women had to “compromise their dignity” to secure government jobs during Congress’s 15-year rule in Assam from 2001 to 2015.
Although the Chief Minister later clarified that his remarks were drawn from the findings of the Biplab Sarma Committee report, the Congress has rejected that defence as a misrepresentation.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) had given the Chief Minister a 24-hour deadline to apologise, warning that they would move the High Court if he failed to do so.
However, when no apology was forthcoming and no legal action followed, the Mahila Congress announced a statewide legal campaign instead.
With the first phase of the Panchayat polls beginning tomorrow, the row has added fuel to an already charged political atmosphere in Assam.