New Delhi: Facing multiple FIRs for his comment on the Hindu god Krishna along with an arrest threat from chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah has alleged that Sarma will readily return to the Congress if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is voted out of power.

Speaking to The Wire, Borah said that a former Congress MLA from Upper Assam who joined BJP in 2021 had said to him that the chief minister had made it clear that when the Congress comes to power, both of them will go back to the Congress.

“When he (the former Congress MLA) was leaving the Congress, he told me that he doesn’t have a problem with the party and neither does the chief minister. He said to me that the chief minister in fact promised him that when the Congress will come to power both of us will rejoin the Congress. This statement was given to me by the former Congress MLA.

“He (the former Congress MLA) has since resigned from the Congress and is now a BJP MLA,” said Borah.

Sarma left the Congress to join the BJP in 2015 and was widely considered to be the principle architect of the party’s victory in the successive elections of 2016 and 2021.

In 2021, Sarma became the state’s chief minister. Ever since his move to the saffron party, a host of Congress leaders in the state have also moved to the BJP tent.

According to Borah, the Assam BJP has been riddled with infighting because of the influx of former Congress leaders under Sarma’s leadership.

“There is a lot of infighting going on between the old and new BJP in Assam. CM cannot take any more people from Congress because BJP has decided that they won’t allow Sarma to welcome more Congress leaders to the BJP because he’s creating his own group.

“Tomorrow if there is a change of government in Delhi he will not stay in BJP, he will immediately change parties. If he is not with BJP he will not be out of jail. Why else did he join the BJP?”

Opposition parties have alleged that Sarma joined the BJP after his name cropped up in the Saradha chit fund scam and is now being protected by the party.

Sarma has said that he has joined the investigations and "stayed with the Congress for at least three months" after he was called for questioning in the case.

Borah’s statement comes just after Sarma said that he could face arrest for his remarks on Krishna.

Reacting to Sarma’s claim of ‘love jihad’ while referring to the triple murder case from Golaghat, Borah had said that inter-community marriage is not new.

“When Dhritarashtra wanted to marry Gandhari, no one from her family was in support of it… Lord Krishna also when he came to take Rukmini, Arjun came in the form of a woman,” Borah said on Thursday, The Indian Express reported.

His statement saw multiple FIRs being filed against him. The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) filed an FIR in Guwahati while the Silchar unit of BJYM and BJP workers in Bajali also filed FIRs demanding action against him.

Subsequently, Sarma said that Borah’s comments could get him arrested.

“We do not want to take the step of arresting people but if Lord Krishna is dragged into controversy, several ‘sanatani’ people will file cases in police stations and then how will I stop the police from taking action? If someone files a case against a person for making such comments, he will be arrested,” Sarma was quoted as saying.

Borah has since apologised for his comments and said that his ancestors came in his dream and said that what he said was wrong.

“The police have not been in touch with me,” Borah said to The Wire when asked about the FIRs.

Referring to his statement earlier, Borah said that he only regrets using certain words in his remarks.

“I said that when Sri Krishna came to meet Rukmini, along with him Arjun also came but Arjun came in a different image. But CM immediately reacted and said Bhupen Borah dishonoured Krishna and if someone files FIR then I will arrest him.

“Immediately the youth wing of BJP filed FIRs because the CM had already announced in advance that if there are FIRs we will arrest him.

“Yes, two words I misquoted – it was unnecessary but I never mentioned love jihad. But yes I said that Krishna came with Arjun and Arjun at that time came as Brihannala and his dress at that time was not what he usually wore. But he (Sarma) immediately reacted.”

Borah said that the real reason behind Sarma’s anger is that he has been talking about the failures of the Assam government.

“In my last two years as Assam [Congress] president, I have raised so many issues against the CM as well as his family.  Especially against the encroachment of land by CM and his family.

“We even came to Delhi and held a protest in Jantar Mantar demanding a CBI inquiry into the land scam by CM's family. That is one of the reasons why CM is very annoyed.”

Borah said that Sarma is also attempting to hide the failures of his government in delivering poll promises.

“In its vision document for the assembly elections, the BJP promised many things. But now they are trying to divert people's minds from these promises.

“They promised by 2022 they will give 10 lakh jobs but till today they haven't even given one lakh jobs. The Assam government is running on loans. They promised ST status to six communities who are OBC in Assam and increase in daily wages of tea labourers. They have not fulfilled any of their promises.

“I have been raising these matters regularly in my speeches as well as in interactions with the media. And they (BJP leaders) have been threatening me that I should not speak against the CM and BJP.”

Borah said that his apology has nothing to do with the FIRs lodged against him.

“It has nothing to do with the FIRs. I admitted that those two words were unnecessary and apologised for that.

“When the Jodha Akbar movie came, we enjoyed it. So this (inter-community marriage) is not a new thing.

“He should comment on how to control price rise, unemployment, floods. He said ‘Ganga of development is flowing in Assam’ then why is the government taking loans?”

“They are not able to fulfil their poll promises and they have failed every sector of development. How will they go to the public now? The only option they have is to create infighting between Hindus and Muslims.”

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