Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is controlling the chief secretary, director general of police and a few other top officials of the State.
He was particularly harsh on chief secretary VK Pipersenia, accusing him of aiding the RSS and imposing its Hindutva agenda in a religiously, linguistically, culturally and ethnically diverse State.
“It is very apparent that Pipersenia is working for the RSS. We have evidence of him meeting RSS leaders and attending the organisation’s meetings,” Mr. Gogoi told newspersons after his Congress party boycotted the inaugural day of the 126-member Assam assembly’s budget session.
The boycott was against the saffron-heavy colour scheme of the assembly’s central hall where the customary tea party with Governor Jagdish Mukhi was organised. The Congress labelled it “saffronisation of assembly” where “saffron tea” was offered.
Mr. Gogoi doubted State police chief Mukesh Sahay’s neutrality too. “I have a suspicion the DGP follows the diktat of the RSS but I have no evidence to assert that,” he said.
Assam Assembly courtyard in Guwahati where a tea party was organised on February 6, 2018
Mr. Pipersenia did not respond to messages. Mr. Sahay declined to comment on what the former Chief Minister said.
“I am clear about my job, which is to maintain law and order. I am a public servant bound by rules and governed by the country’s Constitution,” Mr. Sahay told The Hindu .
The former Chief Minister also criticised Sarbananda Sonowal’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government of trying to purge religious and linguistic minorities in the State through the exercise to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“They (minorities) are being left out on a large scale, and this is nothing but a conspiracy scripted by RSS,” Mr. Gogoi said.
The first draft of the updated NRC was published at midnight December 31. The list contained the names of 19 million people out of the total 32.9 million applicants.
But only 10% of the names of applicants across 11 districts dominated by religious and linguistic minority groups were accommodated in this list, leading to conspiracy theories, though NRC state coordinator Prateek Hajela said those who were left out need not worry.
The BJP equated the Congress party's "allergy" to saffron with disrespect to the national flag. "They probably want to re-colour the flag because of their hatred for saffron," State BJP president Ranjeet K Dass said.
