Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 25 : Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday strongly condemned an incident in which "miscreants" allegedly vandalised religious symbols and festive items at St Mary's School in the Panigaon area of Nalbari district, along with several other locations in the town, ahead of Christmas.
In an official press release, Gogoi said such incidents were a result of the "politics of hatred" being spread across the state by the BJP government. He appealed to the people of Assam not to fall prey to what he described as "provocative acts by vested interests".
"This is a direct attack on the constitutional framework. It is yet another manifestation of the ruling party's continuous attempts to divide society," Gogoi said.
The Pradesh Congress President also launched a sharp attack on the BJP government over alleged "rampant corruption" in the Jal Jeevan Mission. In a post on social media, Gogoi alleged that the entire scam had taken place under the patronage of the concerned department's minister and the local MLA of Nalbari, Jayanta Malla Baruah.
He further alleged that after the Congress party launched statewide protest programmes against the minister over the alleged scam, attempts were being made to divert attention by using miscreants in Nalbari to disturb peace and communal harmony.
Through his official X handle, Gogoi posted, "I strongly condemn the desecration of festive items and religious symbols in a school in Nalbari. The sitting MLA is the Minister responsible for the massive corruption in the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme. He is another close aide of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. After the recent state-wide Congress-led protests against the JJM scam, the BJP Minister needs the VHP and Bajrang Dal to regain his position within his party. Fraternity is enshrined in the preamble of the Indian Constitution. Next year, after Congress comes to power in Assam, we will enact a strict law that will strictly punish any person or group of persons responsible for desecrating the places of worship or rituals of a religious group, be it Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jain or Sikh."
https://x.com/GauravGogoiAsm/status/2004150435767357751
Gogoi said if the Congress party forms the government in Assam next year, a stringent law will be enacted to ensure strict punishment against any individual or organisation that attempts to insult or hurt religious sentiments--whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jain, Buddhist or Sikh--by targeting places of worship or religious festivals and rituals.