Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said Union minister and state BJP president Sarbananda Sonowal's characterisation of the state police force as "Congress' fiefdom" was "derogatory and despicable".
"Sonowal's statement castigating the police force by terming it as Congress' fiefdom is derogatory and despicable. Such a comment is a slur on the image of the police force that has been always at the service of the people," Gogoi said in a statement here.
"It demoralises the morale of the police force that has been performing exceedingly well despite confronted with different challenges," he said adding that the improvement in the law and order situation in the state even drew applause from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
The chief minister asserted that the police machinery had never been subjected to political pressure and was given a free hand to deal with any exigency.
"The state police administration has been given a free hand and is never used for political purposes. The performance of it over the years in countering insurgency and other crimes speaks volume and this is simply because there is no political interference in the running of the police force," Gogoi said.
He claimed, "The open attack by BJP leaders and workers on Congress workers at Rajiv Bhawan and the charges framed against them by the court of judicial magistrate is a pointer how the state BJP under the leadership of Sarbananda Sonowal has been trying to create lawlessness".
"Never before such incidents happened in the political history of Assam," Gogoi asserted.
