HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, June 14 : In a rare show of cross-party support, Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi has backed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s controversial “shoot-at-sight” order against those involved in recent communal violence in Dhubri.
Calling for stringent action, Bordoloi said any group attempting to incite unrest must be dealt with firmly and without hesitation.
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Speaking on the escalating communal tensions in the state, Bordoloi stated on Saturday, “The Congress supports strict punitive measures in such cases,” but simultaneously raised sharp questions about the state’s internal security apparatus.
Referring to claims of foreign involvement, he asked how individuals allegedly linked to Bangladesh were able to infiltrate Assam and trigger violence despite the presence of police and border security forces.
“If these allegations are true, it’s a glaring failure of the state’s security machinery. With BSF and police in place, repeated incidents like this echo the kind of unrest once seen in Pahalgam,” Bordoloi said, directly holding the Chief Minister and Home Minister accountable for the lapse.
While extending support to tough countermeasures, the Congress leader also criticised CM Sarma’s political positioning, accusing him of fanning communal divisions through what he termed a dangerous “Two Religious Theory.”
Bordoloi likened Sarma’s political rhetoric to the divisive “Two-Nation Theory” once advocated by both the RSS and the Muslim League during India’s independence struggle—an ideology, he reminded, that was firmly rejected by Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress.
“Since aligning with the BJP, the Chief Minister has adopted a polarising political strategy that encourages religious faultlines. Such politics embolden disruptive elements and contribute to the cycle of violence,” Bordoloi warned.
