Guwahati: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi on Monday said that no Congress leader, including the party’s newly elected MLAs, will attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Assam on Tuesday.
Addressing reporters here, Gogoi alleged that such swearing-in ceremonies organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party have increasingly turned into “political and election-centric events” rather than solemn constitutional occasions.
Referring to PM Modi’s recent remarks urging people to reduce unnecessary expenditure, use public transport, and avoid lavish spending, Gogoi questioned the scale of the arrangements for the oath-taking ceremony in Guwahati.
“PM Modi recently advised citizens not to spend excessively, avoid unnecessary travel by flights, use public transport, and cut down on luxury expenses. But when we see the kind of arrangements made by the government itself, it does not appear that these suggestions apply to them,” Gogoi said.
He further claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership was not setting an example through its own conduct.
“I had expected that leadership should lead by example. If such messages are given to the people of Assam and the country, then the government itself should introspect about the kind of grand event being organised in the name of oath-taking,” he added.
The Congress leader also alleged that constitutional values are often sidelined during such events.
“For the last few years, we have seen that platforms meant for taking oath under the Constitution gradually become political stages. Constitutional values remain in the background while election-related narratives dominate,” Gogoi said.
He maintained that the Congress would continue to play a “constructive opposition” role in the state and raise issues concerning unemployed youth, local contractors, government employees, and indigenous people of Assam.
However, he asserted that it would not be appropriate for the Congress to participate in what he termed a “Bharatiya Janata Party political programme”.
The new Bharatiya Janata Party-led government under Chief Minister-designate Himanta Biswa Sarma is scheduled to take oath on Tuesday at the Khanapara Veterinary College playground in Guwahati in the presence of several top National Democratic Alliance leaders.
(IANS)
