Assam CM calls Akhil Gogoi “mentally unfit”

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Still seething from Akhil Gogoi’s victory in the Assam Assembly elections despite being behind bars, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has now alleged that he is “mentally unfit to attend Assembly”.

On Monday, Sarma made the controversial remark against Gogoi, a newly minted Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Raijor Dol and was elected from Sibsagar. Gogoi, is a human rights defender and activist who has become a political prisoner after following his campaign against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Sarma revealed that Gogoi was undergoing treatment for a mental illness at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMHC) and was thus “mentally unfit”.

The Sentinel reported that while replying to a question during a discussion following Governor Jagdish Mukhi’s speech, Sarma said, “Akhil Gogoi has been undergoing treatment at GMCH since four months due to his mental and psychological issues,” further asking, “How can a person like him be allowed to attend the Assembly session?”

There are two issues that need closer examination here:

First, is Sarma trying to stigmatise people undergoing treatment for mental illness by suggesting they are not fit to be part of the workforce?
Secondly, is Sarma wilfully trying to defame Gogoi by making comments that are likely to affect Gogoi’s reputation and decrease confidence in his abilities among his supporters?

This does not take into account privacy issues associated with mental illness, given how Gogoi is now a public servant.

It is noteworthy that Gogoi who started as an RTI and anti-corruption activist, then went on to campaign for peasants’ rights and eventually joined the chorus against CAA in Assam, has long been a thorn in the side of the BJP regime in the state. The regime has retaliated by implicating him in a series of cases on trumped up charges filed in different police stations across the state. Whenever he gets bail in one case, a fresh one is filed against him in another police station.

The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader was arrested in December 2019 in Jorhat and at least a dozen cases were filed against him in different police stations. It is noteworthy that the High Court had granted him bail in three cases: 293/2019, 296/2019 and 307/2019, all of which had been filed by the Chabua police station. He was charged under sections 144, 143, 148, 153, 153 (A), 153 (B), along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act (PDPPA). He has been accused of having Maoist links.

In another case filed against him at the Chandmari police station that was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Gogoi has been charged under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), sedition and criminal conspiracy, among other charges. He has been denied bail repeatedly in this case.

So far absurd and trumped up charges filed against Gogoi include unlawful assembly, rioting, wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot, promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, religion, and language; imputations and assertions which are an impediment to national integration, assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging his/her duty, mischief of causing damage to public property, and causing damage to public property by fire or explosive substance! Under UAPA, Gogoi has been charged with terrorist acts with the intent to threaten the unity, security, and sovereignty of India.

In fact, Gogoi was also allegedly manhandled by policemen when he went to attend his own swearing in ceremony. Gogoi has been elected MLA from Sibsagar constituency, in one of the biggest upsets for the BJP given how Gogoi fought and won the election from behind bars.