In a fresh escalation of political tensions in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has publicly condemned a gesture made by former Assam Congress President Bhupen Borah during a campaign rally, labelling it as 'vulgar' and demanding Borah's immediate expulsion from the Congress party.
The controversy erupted after a video clip from the rally went viral on social media, showing Borah making what many interpreted as an inappropriate hand gesture while party leader Gaurav Gogoi was addressing the crowd.
While Gaurav Gogoi was speaking from a bus as part of the party's 'Parivartan Yatra', Bhupen Borah was chatting with Assam's Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia and party leader Mira Borthakur. During this chat, Borah made the extremely vulgar gesture using his write hand. Mira Borthakur tried to stop him, but he continued the gesture. Debabrata Saikia can be seen smiling at this.
In a media address on Saturday, CM Sarma sharply criticised the act, emphasising the need for accountability in public life. "This vulgar gesture towards a woman is unacceptable and shows a complete lack of respect," Sarma stated. He added, "If the Congress truly stands for women’s dignity, they must expel Bhupen Borah immediately. Such behaviour has no place in politics, especially from a leader of his stature."
Himanta Biswa Sarma said that he can't even imagine that the former chief of state Congress made this gesture in the presence of senior party leaders, including a woman leader. He said, 'such people will become women’s affairs minister, social affairs minister, even dreaming of becoming the chief minister, but they are making such a raw gesture in public'.
The CM said that he will further address the issue in his press conference after the cabinet meeting today. He added that he has referred the matter to the women's commission and asked it to take cognisance of the matter.
Himanta Biswa Sarma also criticised the media for not showing the video on their TV channels and portals, accusing them of removing the clip from the videos of the event. However, he added that it is also possible that the media didn’t notice this.