GUWAHATI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday released a 20-point “people’s chargesheet” against the BJP government in election-bound Assam, accusing it of indulging in corruption, institutionalising “Syndicate Raj,” and giving away the lands of indigenous people to corporate houses.
Ahead of the document’s release, Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi claimed that “all the charges that we included in the charge sheet emanated from the people from different corners of Assam.”
The charge sheet accused the BJP of establishing a parallel economy, alleging that the government encouraged, patronised and protected illegal activities, including promotion of illegal rat-hole coal mining, turning Assam into a conduit for the illegal transportation of Burmese supari, illegally extracted coal, contraband and drugs.
According to the charge sheet, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his close ministers and family members accumulated illegal wealth. “The CM and his close ministers have allegedly generated slush funds through an organised syndicate system and invested the proceeds in various ventures, including real estates…and shell companies,” the charge sheet alleged.
On “rising debts, irresponsible governance and financial mismanagement,” the document said Assam’s outstanding debt crossed Rs 2 lakh crore, increasing the financial burden on people and future generations.
The government is taking loans not for reforms or productive investments, but to fund various freebies aimed at electoral winnability, the charge sheet said.
“The money of the people of Assam, which should have been used to build infrastructure and provide water, roads, and basic amenities, is instead being diverted and used primarily for political purposes,” it alleged.
On the charge of “sabotage of the universally accepted Assam Accord of 1985 and deliberate non-implementation of Clause 6 that guarantees the protection of Assamese Identity,” the charge sheet said Clause 6 of the Accord remained unimplemented despite expert committee reports and repeated assurances.
The document alleged that the BJP undermined the sanctity of the Assam Accord by introducing the Citizenship Amendment Act and the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025. It accused the BJP of stalling the NRC project and blackmailing communities by promoting a fear psychosis through official channels.
According to the charge sheet, the BJP failed to declare the perennial problems of floods and riverbank erosion in Assam as a national disaster.
The document further alleged that the BJP government failed to create jobs and grant Scheduled Tribes status to six communities – Koch Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Moran, Motok, Chutia and Tea Tribes.
It also accused the BJP of weakening and throttling public education, and denying education opportunities to the children of the poor. It mentioned that over 9,000 schools were either closed down or merged in the state without adequate local consultation.