Guwahati: Congress MLAs will boycott Himanta Biswa Sarma’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday at the Veterinary College Ground in Khanapara, where around one lakh people are expected.Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi told reporters in Guwahati on Monday that Congress legislators would not attend the event, describing such ceremonies as “an election stage” for BJP. Congress secured 19 seats in the 126-member assembly.“No Congress representative would attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new govt tomorrow,” Gaurav said, alleging that a constitutional ceremony is being turned into an “expensive, political and election-style rally”. Citing PM Narendra Modi’s call for citizens to cut cost, Gogoi said political leaders should set an example and claimed the BJP would have shown restraint if it took Modi’s advice seriously.“In such swearing-in ceremonies where oaths are taken in the name of Constitution, in recent years, we have seen that the Constitution takes a backseat and political talks come to the forefront,” Gaurav told mediapersons. He said Congress MLAs would continue to raise constituency and state issues and added, “Our MLAs will play a constructive role in the assembly,” he said.Later on Monday, Gogoi held a review meeting at Rajiv Bhawan with several party wings, including the media and communication department, social media department, war room and legal cell. The party reviewed its public standing from polling to counting, assessed campaign units and examined public response.Addressing journalists during the meeting, Gogoi said Congress had begun preparations to build a ‘New Congress’ for a ‘Greater Assam’ (Bor Asom). He added, “The people of Assam are finding it difficult to believe these election results. From the very beginning, our focus will be on correcting our mistakes, taking our message to the grassroots and neutralising the BJP’s misinformation. We discussed how to use our volunteers, well-wishers and supporters to counter BJP’s money-powered propaganda through the channels available to us.”
