Akhil Gogoi, leader of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), has been booked under the National Seurity Act (NSA) on 25 September 2017. A total of 122 cases against him have been clubbed together under the NSA including charges like “giving protection to illegal foreigners in Kaziranga National Park,” “having links with ULFA and the Maoists,” etc. Gogoi was arrested on fabricated charges of sedition on 13 September and is currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam.
Last year, Gogoi was arrested and incarcerated in various jails for 78 days since 2 October for protesting against forceful evictions and police killings of citizens in Kaziranga as well as raising his voice against the communally motivated Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. The state government booked him with serious charges – criminal conspiracy, rioting, being armed with deadly weapons, attempt to murder, and resorting to assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty. In addition, he had also been sentenced to prison in connection to cases registered against him in 2015, 2013 and 2006.
Why is the BJP so afraid of Akhil Gogoi and KMSS, the largest and left-leaning social movement in Assam in the twenty first century? We have been observing that the current regime is not only afraid of social activists trying to raise voices against communalism and the injustice and oppression meted out to people by the BJP–RSS. The BJP–RSS are well aware with the mass support KMSS have and their capacity to mobilise masses. Therefore, the government is afraid and hence it has left no stone unturned to stop Akhil and KMSS. As a result, Akhil is being repeatedly arrested and imprisoned. It is in fact the BJP–RSS who are the real threats to national security, and not activists like Akhil Gogoi.
PROTEST DEMONSTRATION, 28 SEPTEMBER 2017, 3 PM, ASSAM BHAWAN, CHANAKYAPURI
— Delhi Action Committee for Assam
