Outlook Exclusive With Assam Cong Chief Gaurav Gogoi: 'BJP Trying To Weaken Constitutional Rights Of Minorities'

As Assam heads into a high-stakes electoral contest, the BJP-led government under Himanta Biswa Sarma has come under intense scrutiny for its hardline policies, from large-scale eviction drives and demolition of homes largely inhabited by Bengali-origin Muslims to an aggressive political narrative around “illegal immigration.” 

Reports in recent weeks have highlighted how hundreds of families have been displaced, with many alleging loss of homes and even voting rights ahead of the polls. The broader political discourse, including constituency changes and rhetoric around demographic threats, has further deepened concerns among opposition parties about the marginalisation of Muslims in the state .

Amid this charged atmosphere, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the BJP’s approach, accusing it of pursuing divisive politics while promising a more inclusive and decentralised vision for Assam. 

In an exclusive conversation with Outlook India, Gogoi speaks about the Congress party’s strategy to challenge the BJP, his sharp critique of Sarma’s governance, and the party’s roadmap as it seeks to mount a strong electoral fight in the state.

I think Congress has been on a mission of rebuilding itself in Assam ever since we lost power in 2016. And you will see that in this election the way we have worked hard for the last 10 months building the organisation in every booth organising relentless campaigns against this government and providing a fresh set of candidates in which we are focused on women and youth to the public has already resulted in a massive change in people's public attitudes and opinions towards us and you will see the results on 4th of May.

First of all, Congress is continuously exposing the massive corruption committed by Himanta Biswa Sarma and members of his family for the past 10 months, and we uncovered huge amounts of illegally gained property and wealth.

In order to make himself look good in front of his political masters, Himanta Biswa Sarma is relying on communal politics so that his political masters within the BJP overlook his corruption and links with syndicates.

At the same time, Himanta Biswa Sarma exposes his double standards by taking the support of AIUDF [All India United Democratic Front] during the Rajya Sabha elections and lightly canvassing for votes for MLAs who have joined the NDA from AIUDF.

Now, Congress has found that his wife has properties in the United Arab Emirates, which is a Muslim-dominated nation. So, Himanta Biswa Sarma’s rhetoric has offended people across Assam, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, and caste.

We are putting the facts before the public that the Congress party has deported a far greater number of people who entered India illegally from Bangladesh. We have taken a stricter stand than the BJP. During the India-Bangladesh border fencing, most of the work was done during the UPA than in the NDA.

It is the Congress party that initiated the updating of the NRC in Assam, and the BJP has left it incomplete. So, time and again, the BJP talks about illegal immigration, but has far less to show compared to the Congress party.

The Congress party, through its campaigning this time, is reminding people who we are as a people, and that is something we are proud of. I am proud of our heritage, which has always inspired pluralism, inclusivity, and coexistence in harmony.

That is what Bhupen Hazarika spoke about and sang about. That is what Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, the famous poet, wrote about. We have this idea of Bor Axom, a Greater Assam, which is inclusive of all tribes, castes, languages, communities, and religions.

These are our values, and this is how we need to take back control of our society from people such as Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Himanta Biswa Sarma is a part of this, as is the BJP at the national level. It is trying to weaken the constitutional rights of minorities, whether religious minorities, Scheduled Castes, or Scheduled Tribes.

This is a party which believes that Indian society should be top-down and hierarchical, and therefore it is coming up with laws and a political mission to change the equality that exists in Indian society into a patriarchal, hierarchical society.

They are basically trying to eradicate the equality that exists in our society and is guaranteed in our Constitution.

UCC is a Directive Principle within the Indian Constitution, but it has been given a political colour by the Bharatiya Janata Party, especially in states where they are in power. Often, they talk about it only when elections are near.

So, they have turned it into an electoral issue, and when it comes to gender justice, we have seen what has happened to Bilkis Bano and the Indian women wrestlers from Haryana, and even in Karnataka.

So, this is not the party that should be talking about gender justice.

We talk about justice for Zubeen Garg, someone whom we greatly respect, and for his values of Assamese pride, fearlessness, love for the environment, and compassion for the poor, something that we want to bring into our government.

And again, decentralising both political power and democracy, as well as economic development, taking power from one chief minister and bringing it back to the people, giving them back their right to free speech, to independent thinking, and the right to criticise the government and ask questions of it.

Similarly, on decentralising economic development, by ensuring that not only a few select companies and big contractors close to the current chief minister prosper, but that traditional industries, cooperatives, and small-town entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs, also prosper.

And as I said, reminding us again of Bor Axom, a term often used by Bhupen Hazarika, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, and Lakshminath Bezbarua, that Assam is a place for everyone, without hate and disbelief.

The Congress has entered into this 2026 election with a coalition of five other political parties who all come from different political ideologies including the leftist politics of regionalism and  the politics reflecting the aspirations of the tribal people of Assam.

It is a rainbow coalition of parties, personalities, and ideologies and we all stand for democracy and a peaceful, prosperous, and stable Assam which is free from corruption and illegal mafias dominating the political class. Therefore, we are all united in taking this mission of not only more come forward.

People who have been evicted are currently living in temporary settlements and shelters. They have been given very minimal aid by the current government.

This government would trade them as illegal as people who enter from Bangladesh illegally yet could not find a single person who had entered illegally and therefore, it is our pledge that for those people who are been agreed by this government that justice will be done and they will be able to rebuild their lives and get the adequate support to overcome these difficult times.