In a move that has ignited a major political controversy in Assam, former All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU) president Rejaul Karim Sarkar joined the Congress party on Sunday, only to immediately stir a storm with contentious remarks about altering the demographic character of the state's regions.
A Controversial Induction and Immediate Backlash
Joining the grand old party in the presence of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Gaurav Gogoi, Sarkar made a series of provocative statements. He declared, “We will make Sivasagar like Dhubri, will turn Dhubri into Sivasagar, will make Barak (south Assam districts) like Sivasagar and will turn Tinsukia into Dhubri.” He added that they aimed to create such an Assam under Gaurav Gogoi's leadership.
The comments were swiftly seized upon by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who interpreted them as a direct threat and a revelation of the Congress's alleged plans. Sarma condemned the statements, framing them as a Congress ploy to replicate the demographic changes seen in Lower Assam's Dhubri district in the indigenous people-inhabited Upper Assam areas.
CM Sarma's Sharp Retort and 'Miya Land' Accusation
Launching a fierce attack, CM Sarma provided his analysis of Sarkar's remarks. He stated that historically, communities like the Koch Rajbongshis and other tribes lived in Dhubri, but decades of influx had transformed it. “Today, 80 or 85% people in Dhubri are of Bangladeshi origin. Hindus have become a minority there,” Sarma asserted.
He directly accused Sarkar and the Congress of threatening to bring people of Bangladeshi origin—often referred to pejoratively as "Miyas" in local political discourse—to districts like Sivasagar and Tinsukia to turn them into "Miya land." Sarma further criticised Gaurav Gogoi for not protesting against Sarkar's speech during the joining ceremony and warned that if Congress returned to power, migrant Muslims of Bangladeshi origin would "loot Assam."
Gogoi's Defence and Counter-Attack on BJP
While defending his new recruit, Gaurav Gogoi offered a different interpretation. He claimed Sarkar was focusing on the concept of “Bor Asom” or greater Assam, aiming for development and unity. Gogoi also used the occasion to launch a political offensive against the ruling dispensation.
He attacked CM Sarma, alleging large-scale misgovernance and rampant corruption in Assam under the BJP-led government. In a pointed remark, Gogoi invoked his late father and former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who had once famously dismissed AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal with the question, “Who is Badruddin Ajmal?”
Gogoi suggested that the people of Assam were now finding similar courage to question the current authority by asking, “Who is Himanta Biswa Sarma?”
The Underlying Issue: Demographic Shifts and Political Narratives
The controversy taps into a long-standing and sensitive issue in Assam's politics—demographic changes, particularly in districts bordering Bangladesh. The ruling BJP and several ethnic organisations have repeatedly expressed concern over these shifts in lower Assam districts like Dhubri over past decades, where migrant Muslim populations have become electorally significant.
Sarkar's comments, whether intended as a pledge for developmental parity or interpreted as a demographic warning, have thus struck a raw nerve. They have instantly refocused political debate on identity, migration, and the polarising narratives that often dominate the state's electoral landscape, setting the stage for a heated political battle.
