He announced he had submitted to the Governor his resignation from the Council of Ministers headed by Gogoi and would submit it to the Chief Minister after the press meet. He went on to say that it was no longer ‘physically, mentally and politically advisable` to work with Gogoi and that he would not rejoin the Cabinet as long as Gogoi was the CM. So far so good. But what he said next was dumb-founding. He said he and other legislators of his group would, ‘as disciplined soldiers of the party’, henceforth function as a ‘constructive opposition’ in the State Assembly.

Were they leaving the Congress then ? No, they were not. They would not ‘encroach into the authority of the High Command’ and abide by any whip issued by it. But if there was no whip and if a policy or decision of the State Government was ‘anti-people’, then they would oppose it. He did not elucidate if that meant voting against and toppling what they claim was their own party’s government. He levelled another charge against the CM. He claimed that during his meeting with Gogoi, the latter had given the strange formula that to keep everyone satisfied, he would reshuffle his cabinet and change the portfolios of the ministers every four months. Immediately, Gogoi came out with a categorical contradiction of Sarma’s claim that he had proposed cabinet reshuffle every four months. Sarma also predicted that if Gogoi was to lead the party in the 2016 Assembly elections, the party would not be able to win more than ten seats.

The fact is that as soon as the Congress High Command made it known that it would not ditch Gogoi in the face of the dissident threat and that four or five of the top dissidents might be expelled from the party, there was panic in the dissident camp. Many of them started deserting Sarma’s camp and crossing over to Gogoi’s side. More are likely to follow suit. Sarma has a problem. Many of the dissidents are opposed to Gogoi but they are not prepared to accept the leadership of Sarma either. Nor do they want to see him as Chief Minister. Sarma’s public image being what it is, the BJP is not likely to touch him even with a barge pole. Expulsion from the Congress would mean the virtual end of his political career.

The BJP is already facing a problem in Assam. The party had carried on a vociferous campaign against the so-called Bangladeshi infiltrators and threatened to deport them to Bangladesh en masse if it came to power. But on coming to power, the Modi Government proposed to introduce visa-free entry to Bangladeshi nationals below 18 and above 65 years of age. It caused great resentment in Assam. “We are trying to prevent infiltration from Bangladesh but the Modi Government is now going to allow them visa-free entry” – this was the sentiment. The Assam Government opposed the Centre’s proposal. But then the Gogoi Government came out with a highly controversial decision. It was to grant citizenship to the lakhs of Bangladeshi ‘refugees’ who had come to Assam after 1971 and had been living in the State for the last 43 years.

It was a practical and pragmatic decision because by now everyone in Assam realizes – even if no one is prepared to admit it in public – that those who had migrated from Bangladesh after June 25, 1971 (the day Bangladesh declared independence) could not be identified and deported. It was not humanly possible. Under the August 15, 1985, Assam Accord signed between the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the leaders of the All Assam Students Union and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad, the ‘cut-off’ date for Bangladeshis who came to Assam was 24th March, 1971. They were to be disenfranchised for ten years. Those who came after the cut-off date would be deported.

The State Government’s decision touched a raw nerve of the people. To the average Assamese, the move was tantamount to legalizing the illegal infiltrators who had to be deported under the Assam Accord. It was a betrayal. The Modi Government’s reaction to this decision has been an eloquent silence. The tirade against the infiltrators was necessary for the BJP to win the elections. But as a party running the government at the Centre it fully realizes that it is a ‘mission impossible’ and it has to reconcile itself to the reality.

For the Congress dissidents to join the BJP now would be suicidal. Quite a few of them have an unsavoury past to live down. It would not be surprising if now, after this showdown, some of them have to face prosecution for a whole range of crimes – from murder to corruption. (IPA Service)