Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi questioned the state government’s recent decision to provide land pattas to members of the tea community. Speaking to the media in Guwahati, Gogoi said there is widespread doubt over whether the promise will be implemented or remain only on paper.
Gogoi asked why the government waited almost ten years to bring such a law. He questioned the timing of the announcement, which comes only four months before the Assembly elections. He said that if the government was sincere, it could have taken this step during the tenure of former Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal or soon after Himanta Biswa Sarma took charge. Gogoi alleged that the move appears to be politically motivated.
He also claimed that the government has allowed several tea gardens to be transferred to owners who failed to run them properly. According to him, workers in many of these gardens have suffered due to frozen PF accounts and loss of festival benefits they previously received. Gogoi alleged that while workers still struggle for basic rights, the Chief Minister and his family have purchased multiple tea gardens over the past five years. 
Gogoi demanded that the Chief Minister release a complete list of all tea gardens owned by him and his family. He said that the government should give land rights to workers of those gardens in front of the media to prove its sincerity. He also urged the government to address the long-standing problems of small tea growers and tea garden labourers, mentioning issues like lack of education, poor healthcare, rising anaemia, and increasing substance abuse in garden areas.
Gogoi further alleged irregularities in Jal Jeevan Mission projects in tea garden regions, claiming that a minister close to the Chief Minister was involved. To highlight these issues, the Congress will launch protest programmes in tea garden areas across several districts starting December 10.
Earlier in the day, Gogoi chaired an organisational review meeting at Rajiv Bhavan with presidents and secretaries from 22 districts. The meeting discussed booth-level preparedness, completion of committees, and strategies to expose corruption under the present government. The Congress also finalised plans for a major protest rally titled “Vote Chor, Gadi Chor,” which will be held at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on December 14. Over 2,000 representatives from Assam are expected to take part.
Senior party leaders, including vice presidents Pronoy Rava, Sharifuj Zaman, Praneswar Basumatary, Jayanta Kalita, Mehdi Alam Bora and general secretary Bipul Gogoi, attended the meeting.
