Swaraj India founder and activist Yogendra Yadav on Sunday slammed the BJP-led state government for jailing Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi and called for the defeat of the ruling party in the upcoming state polls.

Yadav was part of the visiting six-member Samyukta Kishan Morcha delegation which attended an interactive session on the topic “Farmers’ protest, contemporary political situation and the Responsibilities of democratic Citizens” at the Cotton University here.

“Those who should be in jail are outside and those who should be free are in jail. Akhil’s is not a criminal trial, it is a political trial. It is also a trial of the judicial system!

“If Akhil is a terrorist, then everyone in the country is a terrorist. He has been kept in jail so that he can’t engage with the people at large during the elections,” he said after his meeting with Gogoi.

Yadav and Dr Sunilam of Madhya Pradesh, said that the morcha is visiting Assam with only one message: Defeat the BJP for imposing the destructive farm laws and save the country’s unity and democracy.

Assam is having three-phase polls on March 27, April 1 and April 6.

Akhil, who is contesting from Sivasagar constituency, was arrested during the peak of the anti-CAA protest in the state in December 2019 and has since been in jail. He is at present recuperating at the GMCH. Yadav had last met Akhil in February 2020.

The Morcha team sent the same message at the interactive session with Yadav saying that it was time to teach the party which brought the farm laws a lesson so that future governments will think twice before targeting the farmers of the country.

The farmers’ protest that completed 109 days on Sunday, according to Yadav, has revived the self-respect of farmers, established their political clout and helped them unite.

“This is a big achievement. It is the responsibility of the farmers movement to keep the country united and save its core foundations,” Yadav said, clarifying that they are not here to campaign for any candidate or political party.

“We are here with a message that the political party which has gone all out to oppose the farmers, defame the farmers movement and come up with most destructive laws against the farmers needs to be punished. This is our only message,” he said.

The interactive session was organised by three organisations — Sustha Samaj Bikash Chakra, All India Kishan Sabha, Assam unit and Sangrami Krishak Shramik Sangha — said Jayanta Gogoi, one of the organisers.

Advocate Shantanu Borthakur presided over the interaction.