'My gift' to Rahul Gandhi, 2 Cong MLAs supporting Assam govt: Himanta

Guwahati, Feb 14 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said two Congress MLAs -- Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and Basanta Das -- have decided to "support the government" without leaving the grand old party now.

Purkayastha was the working president of the opposition party and Das was a minister in the Tarun Gogoi government.

Sarma, who heads a BJP-led government in the state, welcomed both the legislators at the chief minister's chamber inside the Assembly complex while the Budget Session of the House was in progress.

He termed this development as a "gift to Rahul Gandhi" from him.

Asked if the two Congress MLAs will join the BJP, Sarma said it will be decided before the Assembly elections in 2026.

Sarma also claimed that the Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' has turned into 'Congress Todo Yatra'. Gandhi and Sarma had a series of run-ins during the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' led by the Congress leader in Assam recently.

"Showing faith in the Narendra Modi-led central government, the two Congress MLAs have decided to support the government. For all public welfare programmes and constructive works, they will support both state and central governments," Sarma told reporters here.

Purkayastha, who resigned as the Working President of Congress on Tuesday, and Das will continue to remain MLA of the opposition party, but have lent "unconditional support" to the Government of Assam for working towards the people, he added.

The chief minister stressed that this is a "new trend" of supporting and joining the government, and other states may also follow this style.

Reacting to the development, Purkayastha said: "We will support the government for all developmental works for our constituencies and Assam. However, I will remain a Congress MLA and work as a dedicated Congress worker." With Das by his side, he claimed that there is no other "intention or meaning" to this move other than welfare of the people.

Purkayastha, who has been in the Congress for several decades since his NSUI days, was elected from the Karimganj North constituency in Karimganj district during Assembly polls in 2021. Das won the Assembly polls from the Mangaldoi seat.

Two other Congress MLAs -- Sashi Kanta Das and Siddeque Ahmed - had earlier "joined the government" but are a part of the opposition party's legislators.

Officially, the BJP's strength in the 126-member Assam Assembly is 61, while its allies UPPL has seven MLAs and AGP has nine.

In the opposition camp, the Congress' strength is 27, AIUDF has 15 members, BPF has three and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is one Independent legislator also.

Sarma also claimed that during the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in Assam, Rahul Gandhi asked Congress MLAs to "tear apart" the Assam CM after an independent legislator had complained of inaction by MLAs of the grand old party.

"Rahul Gandhi told the MLAs that if you can't do that, you will be expelled from the party for 5 or 10 or 15 years. But I am happy that the Assam Assembly never witnessed a peaceful business like it has seen this time. There is not even a single walkout, forget about tearing apart.

"The MLAs are with me now. This is my gift to Rahul Gandhi... It was not Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, but Bharat Todo Anyay Yatra. However, it has become Congress Todo Yatra while it is on the move," he added.

Sarma expressed hope that after seeing the developmental works of his government, more opposition MLAs will support him.

"In the last two to four days, 6-7 (opposition) MLAs met me. When the talks mature, we will present them in front of you. They may be physically with their parent party but mentally with us," he claimed.

Sarma said the BJP-led alliance will win at least 11 out of the 14 seats in Assam in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the margins will be in the range of 1.5 lakh to 5 lakh votes.

"If we convert this into Assembly constituencies, then we will lead in 100 seats. In the 12th seat in Lok Sabha, we have a 50:50 chance," he added.

Sarma also said that he is not seeking 'Miya' votes for the next two years as a lot of welfare works like the drive against child marriage and encroachment need to be completed before that.

'Miya' is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam and the non-Bengali speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting this term as a gesture of defiance.

"I will go to them after completing the developmental works. I will get all their votes. Congress and AIUDF will shut shops by then," he claimed. PTI