The Assam unit of the Congress on Sunday organised a ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’ here in protest against the disqualification of party leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a defamation case.

About 10 other Opposition parties of the state also participated in the programme, which was attended by Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Bora and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Debabrata Saikia.

Raijor Dal chief and MLA Akhil Gogoi and litterateur Dr Hiren Gohain, among others, joined the sit-in demonstration by the state’s main opposition party.

The state Congress president said a public rally will be organised in Guwahati soon to mobilise people against the “threat to democracy” posed by the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

“In every district, block, we will create awareness about the threat to democracy by this current regime. We will organise public meetings everywhere and hold a mega rally in Guwahati soon over the issue,” he said.

Opposition parties of the state, including Raijor Dal, Left parties, Assam Jatiya Parishad, AAP and NCP, have lent their support to the Congress, Bora said.

“Their representatives have also participated in the satyagraha here”, the Congress leader said.

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case. The disqualification will bar Gandhi , a four-time MP, from contesting polls for eight years unless a high court stays his conviction.

Terming the actions against Gandhi as an “attempt to kill democracy”, Saikia said, “Our democracy is such that it allows all political parties to function together. But this BJP-led government is trying to kill this very spirit of our democracy.” ne alleged that the BJP is digging out 20-30 year old cases against opposition leaders and using agencies like the CBI and ED to “intimidate” them.

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