‘BJP Is Nervous, Media Can’t Read Assam’s Pulse’: Sethi
Image credit X.com
AICC leader Rajesh Kumar Sethi accuses Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma of normalising communal politics. He says Congress revival is underway.
By NIRENDRA DEV
Guwahati, January 31, 2026 — Senior Congress leader Rajesh Kumar Sethi has launched a sharp attack on the BJP leadership in Assam, accusing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of deliberately pursuing a politics of polarisation to mask governance failures ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Sethi’s remarks come in response to Sarma’s controversial statement that Assam must “practice polarisation for the next 30 years” to survive, a line the Chief Minister later clarified as a divide between “Assamese people and Bangladeshi Muslims,” not between Hindus and Muslims in general.
Speaking to journalists earlier, Sarma said he had instructed BJP workers to file complaints against alleged Bangladeshi Muslims. “I am very happy that some people are getting disturbed in Assam,” Sarma said, adding that such actions were carried out on his orders and that BJP workers should not “feel shy” about targeting “Miyas.”
Reacting strongly, Sethi said the statements reflect the BJP’s growing insecurity. “Media is unable to read the pulse. The BJP is utterly nervous. That is why an elected Chief Minister is singing communal and parochial lines,” he said.
Dismissing the perception that Congress has ceded ground in Assam, Sethi asserted that the party is “way ahead” in preparations for the 2026 polls. “We are exposing Himanta Biswa Sarma’s double standards and blatant communal approach on a daily basis. Assam is being pushed into a dangerous normalisation of communal rhetoric,” he warned.
Sethi argued that repeated instances of hate speech would not have gone unpunished if the rule of law were applied impartially. “Instead of acting against hate speech, false cases and defamation are being used to silence those who speak the truth. This is nothing but suppression of dissent,” he said.
He also questioned the Prime Minister’s silence. “Silence in the face of hatred amounts to indirect endorsement. No citizen should feel insecure or like a second-class citizen in their own country,” Sethi added.
Claiming growing disenchantment with the BJP across the Northeast, Sethi said electoral outcomes in Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya indicate a broader shift. “The defeat of Congress in Assam in 2016 marked a turning point. Ten years later, in 2026, we are set for a Congress revival,” he said.
Follow The Raisina Hills on WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn
About The Author
