By pushing the Citizenship Bill, it wants the Bangladeshi issue to remain, says Assam’s former Chief Minister.

At 82, former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi continues to be the fountainhead of fuel for the Congress at it seeks to reclaim ground lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 Lok Sabha election and the Assembly election two years later. Mr. Gogoi, confident of the Congress bouncing back, was particularly harsh on Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in an interview.

BJP leader Ram Madhav said the Modi wave is as strong as in 2014.

If there’s such a wave, why did the BJP need the help of the AGP (Asom Gana Parishad) again and of other smaller parties? If there is any wave, why do they need Himanta Biswa Sarma? There is not even a ripple because they have robbed people of jobs, failed to check prices of commodities. They came by promising to eject foreigners, now they want to bring in foreigners. People will judge them soon.

By foreigners, do you mean the BJP’s push for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that it says did not impact rural voters during the panchayat poll in December?

The impact is debatable. Suppose the rural voters were not bothered, does it mean we will not fight against the Bill? It is the responsibility of all conscious leaders to go to the people, explain to them about the threat from the Bill, how it will affect our culture, history, tradition, Assamese identity.

Is the Bill designed for the Bengali people, who are a sizeable chunk of voters in Assam?

The Bill is designed to keep Muslims out. But it does Bengali Hindus no good too. They will be duped.

Has the Congress learned to get over the issue of illegal Bangladeshis that dominates polls in Assam?

We started the NRC [updating of the National Register of Citizens] to put an end to it. The BJP, by pushing the Citizenship Bill, wants the Bangladeshi issue to remain. Otherwise, it is not an issue since the Hindus in Bangladesh are living peacefully.

You have said the BJP is showing signs of defeat. How do you explain that?

Look at Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta. They are accompanying every candidate for filing nomination. This is because the candidates are not confident and they have to show their support.

I never did that as the CM, not even for the nomination of my son (MP Gaurav Gogoi).

It is said the promotion of your son proved costly for the Congress...

This is a wrong perception. My son was a newcomer in the 2014 election. A long-time politician like him [Mr. Sarma] had no reason to fear him. Fact is, he became prominent because we encouraged him, trusted him. But he is a man who cannot be trusted. A betrayer is always a betrayer.

He joined the BJP not to show his commitment but to save his skin because of Saradha [chit fund scam], Louis Berger [bribery] cases.

But wasn’t his joining BJP the beginning of the fall of Congress in Assam?

These things happen. Parties come to power, lose power. Himanta was with us when the BJP won seven Lok Sabha seats in 2014. The vote difference for the BJP MP in the Jalukbari Assembly segment, his seat, was more than 10,000. Where was his strategy then? His skills did not yield the BJP seats in Mizoram and Meghalaya despite spending lots of money. There is just too much hype about him.

But Ram Madhav said he is vital for BJP to do well in the north-east.

This is a big joke. Ram Madhav wants to give more importance to Himanta, who was asked not to contest the parliamentary polls, than his party president. If Amit Shah, who has the responsibility of 543 Lok Sabha seats, can contest Gandhinagar, should I believe a person who has 25 north-eastern seats to manage — that too with help from coalition partners and a few Chief Ministers — has a bigger responsibility? They are using him because of his weaknesses and won’t take long to throw him out. He is under pressure to do what they want and he has no courage to have his way.

Why do you think the Congress will bounce back in Assam?

The misrule and fake promises of the Narendra Modi government is a factor. The trend started with the Congress doing well in the Gujarat elections. Wins in Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan followed because of our politics of love as opposed to their hatred. Assam is feeling this change. We have put up better candidates who will reap the benefits of peace and development that 15 years of Congress rule has provided.