Assam polls: Akhil Gogoi's 84-yr-old mother, Medha Patkar campaigns for him

84-years-old Priyada Gogoi campaigned for her son and jailed activist Akhil Gogoi in the Sivasagar constituency ahead of the Assam Assembly elections. She was also accompanied by social activists Medha Patkar and Sandeep Pandey.

Sivasagar: Priyada Gogoi is 84 years old and has many ailments, but she is walking the narrow lanes on a campaign trail amidst all the hullabaloo of Assembly polls in Assam for the last 10 days only to free her son -- Akhil Gogoi.

Moved by her determination, social activists Medha Patkar and Sandeep Pandey have also joined her from Wednesday to campaign for the jailed anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act leader, who is contesting from the Sivasagar constituency.

The Sivasagar constituency, from where Gogoi is contesting is going for polls in the first phase on March 27.

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Akhil Gogoi in December 2019 for his alleged role in violent anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests across the state.

Akhil who leads the Kriahak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) has floated a new political party to contest the assembly polls in Assam christened as Raijor Dal (meaning Peoples' Party in Assamese).

Priyada Gogoi, who hails from Selenghat in neighbouring Jorhat district, has been camping in Sivasagar district for the last seven days and leading the campaigning of Raijor Dal, the newly floated political outfit of her son.

Raijor Dal took out a huge procession of thousands of sympathisers in Sivasagar on Wednesday, bringing life to a complete standstill in this historic town, in support of their candidate Akhil Gogoi.

Priyada Gogoi was leading the procession sitting on an open jeep and appealing to all bystanders with folded hands to vote for her son.

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"The youth power is standing behind Akhil Gogoi. People know that the government has falsely implicated Akhil Gogoi and sent him to jail. We are not into electoral politics but the way the government had jailed Akhil, I have come here to speak the truth," said Medha Patkar while talking to the media.

Patkar said: "Akhil Gogoi is the only strong voice fighting against corruption in Assam. And we all know how corrupt is BJP and its leader Himanta Biswa Sarma."

She also alleged that the ruling BJP is dividing people based on religion and caste in the name of doing politics, and warned the people of Assam and West Bengal to cast their votes keeping in mind that.

Akhil Gogoi was last year admitted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for COVID-19 treatment and he remains there for other ailments.

(with agency inputs)

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