Guwahati/Cachar, Oct 14: The Assam unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday organised rallies in Guwahati, Silchar and Jorhat as part of a statewide mass awareness campaign, backing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In Guwahati, BJP leaders and workers took out a “Jana Jagaran Samadal” rally from Khanapara, led by state party chief Dilip Saikia.
Participants backed the SIR exercise and accused the Congress and other Opposition groups of undermining democratic institutions.
Saikia alleged that protests against the Election Commission of India (ECI) reflected a wider conspiracy to create unrest in the country.
“Congress and other forces have claimed that around 13 crore voters have been deleted during the SIR. This is a 100% misleading message that they wish to circulate and disseminate among the people,” Saikia said.
Assam State BJP Chief Dilip Saikia leading the rally in Guwahati (Photo: Meta)
He alleged that the electoral rolls contained the names of deceased voters and foreigners, while the ECI had been unable to trace the details and addresses of around one crore people previously registered.
Minister Biswajit Daimary said allegations against the electoral system amounted to questioning the BJP-led government. He asserted that India has witnessed unprecedented development and peace under Modi’s leadership.
“They could have filed formal complaints if they suspect irregularities, but no, instead they are disrupting the peaceful state of the nation,” Daimary said, criticising the opposition’s approach.
MLA Diplu Ranjan Sarma accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of acting against national interests and alleged that the protests had foreign backing, without providing evidence.
“We are not trying to support or defend Gyanesh Kumar, but we are with the system. We need SIR, foreigner-free India, economic growth,” Sarma said.
In Silchar, thousands participated in a rally organised by the BJP’s Cachar district unit on Tuesday. Minister Kaushik Rai, Silchar MP Parimal Suklabaidya, Rajya Sabha MPs Kanad Purkayastha and Sushmita Dev, and Silchar MLA Rajdeep Roy were among those present.
BJP rally backing SIR in Silchar on Wednesday (Photo: AT)
Leaders called for national unity and accused forces opposed to India’s interests of attempting to destabilise the country.
Rai said the participation reflected people’s resolve to safeguard national interests, while Dev described the programme as an effort to uphold Modi’s vision and oppose what she termed “anarchist forces”.
A similar rally was held in Jorhat on Wednesday, with BJP leaders backing Modi and pressing for electoral roll revision while criticising protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Minister Pijush Hazarika addressing mass awareness rally in Jorhat (Photo: @Pijush_Hazarika/X)
The party also held a rally in Nalbari on Tuesday.
The mobilisation followed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s announcement on Monday that the BJP would hold peaceful rallies at district headquarters across Assam from October 13 to 31.
Sarma had accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of attempting to pressure constitutional institutions and described the opposition campaign as an effort to bring about regime change without public support.