Guwahati: A big blow to the Congress party leader’s propaganda warfare against Assam CM by the Guwahati court. A Guwahati court delivered a body blow to Congress’s narrative on February 12, issuing an urgent gag order against leaders Gaurav Gogoi, Bhupesh Baghel, and Jitendra Singh, barring them from levelling “defamatory” attacks on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The directive follows Assam CM Sarma’s humongous Rs 500 crore defamation case against the leaders and a major Assamese newspaper, over wild accusations that he amassed 12,000 bighas of land through illicit means. Senior Civil Judge Nayanjyoti Sarma granted the ad-interim relief on Wednesday, warning that without it, justice would be jeopardised amid potential legal chaos.
Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, in charge Jitendra Singh, and senior leader Bhupesh Baghel, plus the paper’s owner Jayanta Baruah, publisher, and reporter, face a March 9 court date to defend themselves in person and submit proof for their claims. The court summons all Congress leaders to appear in person and present proof of their allegations.
Representing CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Advocate General of Assam Devajit Lon Saikia described the allegations as a “malicious hit job.” He recounted a recent Congress presser where the leaders branded CM Sarma a land-grabber. “The CM has dared them to show evidence which actually doesn’t exist,” advocate Saikia said. CM Sarma’s defences are ironclad: decades of Election Commission affidavits since 2001 detail every holding, mirrored in his income tax filings. “How do they conjure 12,000 bighas from thin air when records are crystal clear?” advocate Saikia probed.
The CM has swatted down parallel smears of betrayal in his political ascent, vowing full accountability. Saikia pinned the onslaught on poll panic: “With elections nearing, Congress is fanning falsehoods to dupe the public and score cheap points.”
This showdown amplifies Assam’s fiery pre-election rhetoric, pitting the BJP’s resilience against opposition barbs. Critics view the injunction as a clamp on discourse, but CM Sarma’s camp celebrates it as a shield against “fabricated propaganda” by the Congress party, which has lost all support from the Assamese people due to its pro-Bangladeshi appeasement politics. CM Sarma claimed that this fabricated propaganda by the Congress party is all exposed in front of the people of Assam, and the party will be reduced to 18-19 minority MLAs in the coming election.
As defendants scramble for substantiation, the March showdown looms large. CM Sarma’s bold suit signals zero tolerance for unbridled mudslinging, potentially reshaping campaign tactics in the poll-bound state.
