Congress’ new entrant quits after backlash, labels party leaders ‘BJP agents’

Guwahati, Jan 14: After two days of intense political heat and widespread backlash over his controversial statements about Sivasagar and Dhubri districts, newly inducted Congressman Rejaul Karim Sarkar resigned from the party on Wednesday.

In his resignation letter addressed to APCC president Gaurav Gogoi, Sarkar cited deep ideological differences and disillusionment with the party’s leadership.

He said he had joined the Congress drawn by its “secular outlook, inclusive ideology and commitment to constitutional values”, but recent developments had made it difficult for him to continue.

Escalating the crisis, Sarkar accused Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia and Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi of functioning like “BJP agents” within the Congress.

He said statements and actions by the two senior leaders caused him “moral and ideological pain”, forcing him to take the decision to step away.

The resignation came amid sharp public exchanges within the party. On Tuesday, Saikia openly questioned Sarkar’s political standing and relevance in the Congress, while also raising concerns about his alleged proximity to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

“Actually, who is Rejaul Karim? What are his contributions to us? From what I know, he has good relations with CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. Karim earlier criticised Congress. The CM often says his agents are within the Congress. Perhaps old terms have expired and a new agent has been sent. This needs to be examined,” Saikia said.

Earlier, Saikia had dismissed Sarkar’s controversial remarks as “poorly articulated” and stressed that they did not reflect the party’s official position.

The row erupted after Sarkar’s comments were widely interpreted as suggesting that the character of Upper Assam districts could change in ways similar to Dhubri, a district often politically linked to alleged demographic shifts due to the influx of Bangladesh nationals.

The remarks drew sharp criticism from political rivals, civil society groups and sections within the Congress itself.

Though Sarkar later issued an apology and clarified that his comments were meant to underline unity and balanced development across regions, the damage proved irreversible.

The sustained backlash, coupled with intensifying internal resistance, ultimately culminated in his resignation.

The episode has exposed fresh fault lines within the Assam Congress at a time when the party is seeking to regroup and rebuild ahead of the Assembly polls, underscoring the challenges of managing dissent and messaging in an already fractured political landscape.