GUWAHATI: Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader Akhil Gogoi, who has been in jail since last December for alleged Maoist links, may be released in the next few days, said the peasant organisation’s political wing, Raijor Dal’s, chief convener Bhasco De Saikia.
Saikia was hopeful that the judgment of the Gauhati High Court will be in their favour and Akhil will be granted bail. This comes at a time when Raijor Dal, one of the newest regional parties to be born out of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act movement, is going to organize its first state convention at Moran in upper Assam between January 7 and 9 that will decide whether it will ally with Aasu-backed Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP). “We hope that the people of Assam will get the good news that Akhil Gogoi is coming out of jail very soon and he will be able to join us in the first state convention,” Saikia added
Akhil’s counsel Krishna Gogoi said the hearing on the case ended on December 17 after prolonged arguments and the court has reserved its judgment. “After the court reopens on Monday following the winter break, we are expecting that a judgment will come by the coming week,” Krishna added.
Meanwhile, another chief convener of Raijor Dal, Hussain Mohammah Shahjahan, said unofficial talks with AJP leaders have already been done, but in the Moran convention, the party will come up with an official proposal of an alliance to dethrone the ruling BJP. Both AJP and Raijor Dal have been advocating an anti-BJP and anti-Congress front for the upcoming assembly polls.
Several noted personalities, including retired IPS officer and former president of the state unit of National People’s Party, Dilip Borah and Assam state branch president of Indian National Trade Union Congress (Sundriyal faction), Sanatan Kalita, joined the Raijor Dal along with their supporters on Sunday. The party, in a statement, said their organizational base will be strengthened in 26,000 villages across Assam before the upcoming assembly polls. “Aggressive nationalism and communalism is bound to be defeated in Assam this time. It's certain,” the statement read.
On the other hand, hundreds of Congress workers, led by Dulu Ahmed, joined AJP in presence of party president Lurinjyoti Gogoi at Hajo in Kamrup district. “People of the state have already made up their mind to bring a political change in 2021,” Gogoi said.