Gaurav Das 
Guwahati: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has set itself in a spring-cleaning mode to get rid of in-house anti-party activities brought to its notice in the 2024 general elections.
Sources said this was being done to tie loose ends and enforce a strong organisational structure ahead of the November panchayat, and 2026 assembly polls.
The APCC on Wednesday (July 10) issued a notice to all party members to take punitive measures based on complaints received against those involved in such activities.
A three-member disciplinary action committee (DAC) has been constituted for the purpose.
Anti-party activities came to the APCC’s notice when it received 35 complaints from sources across six districts in Assam.
The complaints were against some ‘primary members’ involved in in-house anti-party activities during the 2024 elections.
A 15-day window, ending on July 25, has been set following the issuance of the APCC’s notice, within which any anti-party activities or grievances must be reported to the DAC.
Bhupen Kumar Borah, president of the APCC, told The Wire, “This is one of the first drastic steps that we are gearing up [for], to enforce disciplinarian measures in the run-up to the upcoming panchayat and assembly polls. We cannot afford to tolerate any anti-party activities or double standards from within our own house that could hamper our efforts in winning elections. The complaints we received were from our own grassroots sources who were doing the hard work, and this is incredibly unfair to them and [other] party workers,” Borah said
“We must find out who was involved and seek them out. Such anti-party activities are a matter of great indignation, especially in the backdrop of the last Lok Sabha elections. The DAC members will conduct field visits and talk to the root level sources,” he added.
Borah refused to reveal the names of the six districts from which the 35 complaints were filed, saying that it “is a matter of in-house investigation”.
According to the APCC notice, besides primary members who may be involved in anti-party activities, others may include any office bearers from APCC’s District Congress Committee (DCC), Block Congress Committee (BCC), and Mandal Congress Committee (MCC), as well as all frontal wings, cells, and departments, and elected representatives of Assam Congress.
The Wire reached out to co-chairman of the DAC, Bobbeeta Sharma.
She said anti-party activities include speaking against the party’s candidates, not cooperating with party members, harming the party’s image by speaking against it in media interactions, distortion of facts, spreading misinformation, disinformation and leaking sensitive information etc.
“We are not against those socialising with members of rival parties or interacting with them in friendly banter. But [we are] against activities that may be detrimental to our efforts especially during elections. This is a serious issue for us as it was done during general elections. We had discussions and the onus is on transparency and maintaining discipline. We look out for our root level sources and party members who work hard. Thirty-five complaints were brought to us. We must find out facts and evidence. Any anti-party activity is not acceptable.”
When asked what punitive measures will be undertaken against those involved, Sharma said, “it will depend on PCC and AICC after deliberation.”
The party won three seats – Dhubri, Jorhat and Nagaon – in the 2024 general elections.
The APCC has been plagued with the exodus of its leaders and workers in the past.
In February, Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, from Karimganj north constituency in Karimganj district, resigned from his post as working president of the APCC.
He, along with Basanta Das, the Congress MLA from Mangaldai, offered open allegiance to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Himanta Sarma led-state government over Saram’s ‘development work in Assam’.
Both Purkayastha and Das were served with show cause notices and suspended from the party.
In 2021, the APCC issued show-cause notices against 212 party workers and leaders who were allegedly involved in anti-party activities during the last assembly election held in 2021.
“Actions will depend upon the APCC and AICC against those involved in anti-party activities. Such activities go against the ethos of the party’s constitution. There have been such instances before and were dealt with measures. Such activities cannot be tolerated,” said Debabrata Saikia, leader of opposition in the state assembly.