GUWAHATI, May 2: The Congress on Thursday filed multiple police complaints against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his alleged derogatory remarks against women made during a recent panchayat poll campaign.
The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) lodged complaints at several district headquarters across the state, condemning the CM’s statement made on April 28 during the panchayat election rallies. The complaints accused the chief minister of making comments that allegedly malign the character of Assamese women.
Police authorities have acknowledged the complaints but have not yet registered any FIRs, stating that they are currently investigating the matter.
During his campaign speeches, CM Sarma referred to a witness statement from the report of the Justice (Retd) Biplab Kumar Sharma Commission. The commission had probed alleged irregularities in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) examinations for the years 2013 and 2014, during which the Congress was in power.
Sarma cited the witness statement which claimed that women “had to adopt a wrong path” to secure jobs during the Congress regime.
Congress party spokesperson Monalisa Baruah Hazarika said that district Congress presidents and other leaders had filed complaints at their respective police stations. She noted that the party demanded legal action under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and called for a full investigation into the CM’s remarks.
District Congress Committee president Gopal C Sarma stated in his complaint that the remarks were insulting, inappropriate, and deeply hurtful to the sentiments of the state’s women. He stressed that such comments from the state’s highest elected official were unacceptable and reflected a decline in public discourse.
“Such a statement has caused immense hurt to the sentiments of the women community of our state and has shown complete disrespect towards the entire women community in the state, which is punishable under law,” he wrote in the complaint.
Gopal C Sarma also pointed out that Himanta Biswa Sarma held influential positions in the Cabinet of then Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi during the time of the alleged APSC irregularities. He questioned why Sarma had not spoken out earlier if such irregularities truly occurred. “If there were any irregularity, the current chief minister should also be held accountable,” he asserted.
On Wednesday, Congress workers staged a protest in Guwahati, burning an effigy of CM Sarma and submitting a formal letter to the National Commission for Women, seeking action against the BJP leader.
APCC women’s cell president Mira Borthakur Goswami added that the CM’s statement was a direct insult to all women in the state. “Such a statement is not acceptable,” she said, questioning Sarma’s silence during his 15 years in the Congress government.
