Assam Elections: Jailed anti-CAA activist Akhil Gogoi files his nomination

Guwahati: Jailed activist Akhil Gogoi on Monday submitted nomination papers for the Sivasagar and Mariani Assembly constituencies from the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) here.

Mr. Gogoi is the president of Raijor Dal, a new regional party floated on the plank of anti-CAA agitation in the state. Raijor Dal, ally, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) was also launched six months ago.

An election team collected Mr. Gogoi’s papers from the hospital where he filed his nominations to the returning officers via video-conference.

He is brought to the hospital from the central jail on the outskirts of Guwahati for periodic check-ups.

Soon after submitting his papers, Mr. Gogoi wrote a six-page letter addressed to the people of Assam, claiming he has been held captive by the BJP-led government since December 2019.

“It is time to perform the BJP’s visarjan [immersion]. You, the people of Assam should come out to defeat the traitorous BJP. Together, we will have to drive out the BJP from power at any cost. Raijor Dal is all set to teach the saffron party a lesson for selling the country in the upcoming elections,” he said in the handwritten letter.

Gogoi, who is currently lodged in Guwahati Central Jail had approached the top court against the order passed by the Gauhati High Court rejecting bail on January 7 this year.

With 12 cases lodged against Gogoi now being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Gogoi is lodged in a jail for more than one year. (UNI)