The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee would let the party leadership in Delhi know what activist-turned-MLA Akhil Gogoi thinks of them.
Newly appointed State Congress president Bhupen Borah left for Delhi on Thursday to meet the central leadership, a day after Mr. Gogoi met Rahul Gandhi and Mukul Wasnik in the national capital.
“We will abide by whatever decision [on an alliance with Mr. Gogoi’s party Raijor Dal] the central leaders take. But I will let them know how he has been deriding the Congress in public,” Mr. Borah said before his departure.
He alluded to “Congress is a setting sun”, “Congress cannot do well under Rahul Gandhi” and other such statements made by Mr. Gogoi.
Mr. Borah said the party workers were unhappy over such remarks.
The Congress had on August 30 severed its ties with the minority-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), one of its nine allies in the pre-poll grand alliance. The reason was said to be AIUDF’s praise of the BJP in Assam.
Mr. Gogoi, approached by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to lead the Trinamool Congress in Assam, is reportedly trying to fill the gap left by the AIUDF by offering to support the Congress ahead of the Assembly by-elections.
The Raijor Dal president, who represents the Sibsagar Assembly seat, praised Mr. Gandhi’s “political maturity” and ‘experience’ after meeting him on Wednesday.
“We discussed how the Opposition parties can fight to restore the federal structure and approach the upcoming by-elections,” he told journalists.
He also said the Congress State leadership has to accept the decision of its high command, which “favours an alliance”.
Mr. Gogoi had labelled the AIUDF as communal as the BJP.
