Guwahati, Sept. 26: Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia today criticised the state government for arresting KMSS adviser Akhil Gogoi under the National Security Act (NSA) and questioned its failure to arrest the person who has threatened three Congress legislators on social media.

“Akhil Gogoi has been continuously raising his voice on protecting the rights of the common people. He had threatened to take up arms if the various demands were not met. So arresting him under the NSA is not fair. It is a black act. No person was arrested under this act in 15 years of Congress rule,” Saikia claimed.

The NSA was promulgated in 1980 empowering the government to detain a person to prevent him/her from acting in any manner prejudicial to the nation’s security and its ties to foreign countries, maintenance of public order or the maintenance of supplies and essential services. The detention period could be extended to 12 months.

Sources said Lachit Bordoloi, member of a consultative group pushing for peace parleys with Ulfa, was arrested in 2008 under NSA during Congress rule at Moran in Dibrugarh district. He was released by Gauhati High Court after four months in detention, they said.

Akhil was arrested several times during the Congress rule but never under NSA.

On September 13, Akhil was arrested by a Dibrugarh police team from his residence in Golaghat for allegedly instigating people to take up AK-47s against the government during a public rally at Moran. Earlier, he was booked under Sections 120B, 121, 124A, 109, 153, 153A and 34 of the IPC.

Chief judicial magistrate, Dibrugarh, yesterday booked Akhil under NSA after receiving a letter from Nagaon deputy commissioner saying 12 out of 33 cases registered against him merit invoking of the act. He is lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail.

KMSS activists today staged protests in different parts of the state demanding immediate release of Akhil.

Speaking on the threat issued on Facebook to three Congress legislators, Saikia said, “Sherman Ali Ahmed, Aminul Islam and Abdul Khaleque were threatened on social media. But the state government has not taken any step to arrest the culprit. At Hojai, BJP leaders had threatened district administration officials. But no step was taken. Akhil was arrested because he raised his voice against the misdeeds of the government.”

One Nilotpal Barua had allegedly threatened the three Congress legislators on a Facebook post last week after they opposed the interim report of the Hari Shankar Brahma committee.

“We demand release of the final report of the Brahma committee as soon as possible as the interim report has created a huge controversy. Earlier, Brahma stated that people who came to Assam before 1971 will be regarded indigenous. But the statement made in the interim report is not based on actual data. He should analyse the whole matter before releasing the final report,” Saikia said.

The interim report submitted to chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on July 22 revealed that illegal migrants were living in large numbers in 15 districts causing apprehension among the indigenous people.

Saikia also slammed the BJP for the havoc wreaked by members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the recent students’ union elections of various colleges.

The Congress also demanded an inquiry into the death of six persons in Dangori of Tinsukia district after consuming liquor and demanded compensation for the victims’ families.

Demanding the release of salary of schoolteachers, Saikia said, “For the first time, schoolteachers did not get salary before Puja. The graduate pay scale was sanctioned in 2008. We demand education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to release the salary of teachers as soon as possible so they can enjoy the Pujas with their families.”

Manash Pratim Dutta Posted in Telegraph India