GUWAHATI:Akhil Gogoi is the face of protest in Assam. For years, he and peasants’ body Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS)—of which he was the founding secretary—had led a statewide movement against corruption. Now the KMSS has floated a political party to achieve “social change”.
The party, Gana Mukti Sangram Assam, was launched during the KMSS’s fourth biennial session held last week in the presence of Akhil’s ideologue and noted Gandhian, Anna Hazare. He advised Akhil not to contest elections and instead continue his fight for the rights of the people.
“I am often asked by people if Akhil will join politics. My answers have been no, invariably. I have full faith in him. What can he achieve by fighting an election? He can at best become an MLA or an MP. But I want him to continue to fight for the masses,” Hazare had said.
Akhil said the party had been floated to launch a movement against the “centralised form of governance under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution” and if need be, it would contest elections as a strategy.
“In the current structure of governance, there are two power centres, one at the Centre and the other at the state. We feel it is least helping the common man. We want to change the system. A mass movement is required for it. We would call it the second phase of independence movement,” Akhil said.
Given his acceptability, especially among the farmers, it is no surprise that the parties in the state are worried over the formation of the new party. Hours after it was born, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of the ruling Congress accused Akhil of floating the party with black money.
“He is the leader of a peasants’ body. The farmers are the poorer section of the society. But how could they float a political party? Where did the money come from?” Gogoi had asked. He did not stop there. Continuing with his tirade, the CM asked Akhil to come clean to clear the cloud that may have in the minds of the people.
The activist shot back in no time. “Tarun Gogoi and his party, the Congress, are scared that the KMSS has launched a political party. That’s the reason why he is taking all rubbish,” Akhil said.
In the run-up to last year’s Lok Sabha elections, Akhil had openly supported the BJP. The relationship is now on the rocks after the saffron party went back on its pre-poll promises. Akhil is miffed that the BJP deviated from its stand and endorsed the Indo-Bangla land swap deal and the construction of a dam on river Subansiri for a 2,000 MW power project. The project has remained stalled for over a year now in the wake of stepped up protests by several influential organisations, including the KMSS.
Akhil, who is now the chief convenor of Gana Mukti Sangram Assam, said the party would take to the streets in the coming days to demand special status for Assam under Article 371 (A) of the Constitution. Rights over land and natural resources to the locals, besides ST status to six ethnic communities, would be the other issues that they would fight for.
Akhil shot to fame in 2008 when he was conferred the Shanmugam Manjunath Integrity Award after he had unearthed a Rs 12-crore scam in the Sampoorna Gram Rozgar Yojna. He is also a recipient of the CNN-IBN Young Indian Leadership Award and the Best RTI Award. Initially, his fight was against corruption but in due course, he got involved in issues facing Assam.