Nagaon: It took 24 years for 60-year-old Atul Debnath to get a pair of slippers. No, it's not due to financial crunch or any disease but rather a vow taken by him that led him to walk barefoot for over two decades.
Debnath, a voter of Samaguri constituency in Assam's Nagaon district, had taken a pledge in 2001 to wear 'chappal' only when the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) returned to power in his constituency.
A dedicated grassroot-level worker of AGP, Debnath was deeply pained to see the party losing the electoral battle in Samaguri in 2001. AGP candidate Atul Sharma was defeated by Congress candidate Rakibul Hussain. Till then, Samaguri was a forte of the regional party and the pain forced Debnath to vow not to wear a 'chappal' till the party won the polls.
In October last year, the ruling BJP won the Samaguri constituency and ended the 24-year-old Congress rule in the constituency. BJP's Dipluranjan Sarma defeated Congress candidate Tanzil Hussain, son of Rakibul Hussain by a staggering margin of 24,423 votes in the bypolls. The BJP's victory in Muslim-dominated Samaguri constituency also signalled the saffron party's growing foothold in regions long dominated by its rivals.
The regional political party, AGP, is a partner of the BJP-led alliance in Dispur and also a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Delhi.
Senior AGP leader and Assam minister, Keshab Mahanta, visited the house of Debnath on January 22 and gifted him with two pairs of slippers. It was an emotional moment for Debnath as he broke his vow and slipped into the new footwear after a wait of 24 years.
"The Congress rule in Samaguri since 2001 has been a nightmare for us. My family has been subjected to insult and mockery by the local Congress leaders. I have also been tortured by some Congress supporters who used to enjoy political support all these years," Debnath said with tears rolling down his cheeks.
In these 24 years, wherever Debnath went outside his house, be it for any party work or personal or family reasons, he always walked barefoot. "Many people and Congress-backed goons used to mock me and my family for my vow. However, their mockery, insult and torture only strengthened my grit," he said.
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