'Overground Maoist KMSS' behind Assam violence: BJP

The Assam BJP on Thursday accused the Congress, "overground Maoist body KMSS" and Leftists parties of being involved in the violent protests against the amended Citizenship Act last month.

State BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass also alleged that workers of these three organisations had brought bottles of liquor in three trucks and torched party MLA Binod Hazarika's house at Chabua on December 12 using them.

Dass charged them with plotting for three months to burn Hazarika's house, the treasury office, a post office, the railway station and other government properties at Chabua in Dibrugarh district.

"BJP workers have filed FIRs that the KMSS, Congress and the Leftists were involved in Chabua violence. They brought three trucks of liquor bottles, poured the alcohol on the MLA's house setting it ablaze. We urge the state government to institute an enquiry into the violence," the BJP leader said.

He termed the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS) led by Akhil Gogoi as an "overground Maoist organisation".

Asked why he was describing the KMSS as so, Dass said "Books on Maoist ideology were found in its Guwahati office."

Following the arrest of Akhil Gogoi on December 12, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on December 26 carried out searches at his residence and office in Guwahati and seized several items including nine books with one on the life of Mao Zedong and another on Marxism.

"There was a conspiracy by a section of the protesters to burn down the state secretariat (Janata Bhawan in Guwahati) during the protests on December 11," the state BJP chief said.

He claimed that he has examined at least 400 video footage of the violence of that day and found that some people were carrying two matchboxes in their each pocket to set ablaze the Janata Bhawan.

Dass said, "According to intelligence reports, the Congress during the NRC pilot project in Barpeta in 2010 had planned to burn down the district deputy commissioner's office where people's land deeds are recorded."

The Congress has suddenly arrived at the scene and created disturbances, he said adding, "They should go to the house of each of the 855 Assam Agitation martyrs for failing to give them the honour they rightly deserved."

Protests against the new citizenship law were being held democratically and peacefully by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), Dass said adding that political parties are taking advantage of the situation.

On protesters showing black flags to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal being beaten up by the police, he urged the agitators to display black flags from one place only and requested the police not to chase them away.

Asked if jihadis were involved in the mayhem as state head of the Islamic outfit People's Front of India was arrested, the BJP leader said, "Possible".

To a question, he said, "Our 42 lakh BJP workers will never allow Bangladeshis to enter Assam. After Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, not a single person from that country illegally entered India as he has taken up the issue with the government there. All those who entered here illegally were during the Congress rule," he asserted.

Dass said he was confident that in the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP would win 100-plus constituencies in the 126-seat House.

"We have taken all measures to safeguard the interests of Assam. People have to have faith in us. We will not give an inch of land to foreigners," Dass said.