The Congress in Assam will take the legal route to counter the repeated claim of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that Assam PCC chief Bhupen Kumar Borah will soon join the ruling BJP.

Borah asserted in Jorhat on Tuesday that he will be filing a defamation case against Sarma on Wednesday in an apparent bid to dismiss Sarma’s claim, an “attempt to divert” the attention of the voters whenever he or Congress or Opposition leaders flag unfulfilled promises/assurances made by the BJP in case of Assam.

He was in Jorhat along with other senior state leaders, including CLP Debabrata Saikia, deputy CLP Rakibul Hussain and party veteran Paban Singh Ghatowar, to express solidarity with Gaurav Gogoi, who pitched his nomination as the “nomination of the people of Assam” after filing his papers for the Jorhat parliamentary seat.

The PCC chief said that Sarma’s claim was nothing but an attempt to divert the attention of the voters when he or Congress or Opposition leaders flag unfulfilled promises/assurances made by the BJP in the case of Assam.

“Whenever I raise questions about what happened to ST status promised to the six communities, about the hike in daily wages for tea workers, about dredging the Brahmaputra or building expressways along the banks of the Brahmaputra to solve the problem of erosion/flood, about number of jobs provided, the chief minister has only one answer — Bhupen Borah will soon the BJP,” Borah said.

He said the Congress will not fall into the trap laid by Sarma to divert attention and urged the media too not to fall into that trap, adding he will file a defamation case against the chief minister.

He even asked media persons to give three good reasons why he should join the BJP.

“One of our working presidents joined the BJP and became vice-president. What will I get? I am not after an MLAship or ministership or position. I am holding the coveted post of PCC president, a post held by leaders like former chief ministers Hiteswar Saikia and Tarun Gogoi. I am not only a footsoldier but also the general of the state unit. As the PCC chief chief, my opinion is sought while distributing tickets. Therefore, give me three good reasons why I should join the BJP. We are not falling into this trap,” Borah said.

Congress insiders said there is no option but to take on Sarma head-on because his claim about party leaders is confusing both the voters and our members.

Borah said he was confident that the people of Jorhat, a politically and culturally significant constituency, would give a decisive mandate in favour of Gaurav, who is “the face of Assam, voice of Northeast and an emerging leader of India”.

Jorhat has become the focus of the electoral battle in Assam and the fight for the seat will only intensify given the response to Gaurav’s nomination rally on Tuesday.

Gaurav, son of three-term chief minister Tarun Gogoi, was accompanied by a healthy and enthusiastic crowd on the way to the DC office to file his nomination and pitched his nomination as that of the people of Assam, of every youth, every mother, every ASHA and Anganwadi worker and every small businessmen.

“It is not the election of one person. It is our election to secure Assam’s language and culture ... and to protect the vision of greater Assam as envisioned by our great leaders and icons,” Gaurav said after filing his nomination.