GUWAHATI: BJP legislator

, who had in the past courted controversy for his communal remarks, on Monday said the saffron party is like the Ganges where all sins get washed away.

His latest remark came in the backdrop of many senior leaders from the Congress joining the saffron party.

"BJP's doors are always open to those who want to join the party. BJP is is like the holy Ganges where all the sins are cleansed. Many Congress members had joined BJP because there is no other way for their prayaschitta (expiation)," Dev said at a function in Baksa district.

He added that the way Congress members are joining BJP, it has become almost certain that the state is soon going to be "Congress-mukt". Dev said people are leaving Congress to join BJP in droves in other parts of the country too.

"In BJP, we are trained to inculcate the ideology and culture of serving the nation first. So, we are not worried by Congress members joining the party," said Dev.

On Sunday, former Rajya Sabha MP Santiuse Kujur, six-time MLA Gautam Roy and former state Congress secretary Hiranya Bhuyan joined BJP. With this, the saffron party in the state has got over four senior from Congress in a fortnight. Last week, Bhubaneswar Kalita, the chief whip of Congress in the Rajya Sabha, left the party and joined the saffron party. Former MLA Rajendra Prasad Singh, too, left Congress and joined BJP last week.

health and finance minister

, who also left Congress and joined the saffron party in 2015, on Sunday said BJP has no place for self-ambition. "That (self-ambition) may be a Congress tradition, but not that of BJP. In BJP, serving the society and the country are the only priorities," he added.