Guwahati, Nov. 28: Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi today expressed grave displeasure at the state sports and youth welfare department for throwing open the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium inside Sarusajai sports complex to non-sporting activity and directed it not to do so in the future.

Though Gogoi did not mention the “non-sporting activity” that upset him, it was clear from the government release issued this afternoon that he was hinting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at the stadium on Sunday, evoking a sharp response from the BJP.

Modi will reach Guwahati tomorrow afternoon.

Gogoi strictly directed the department to ensure that the playground is in good condition and that any non-sporting activity should not damage it.

“Do not accord permission to any political parties/organisations/individuals to hold any non-sporting activities in the main stadium at Sarusajai. This directive has to be strictly adhered to at any cost,” Gogoi said.

Vijay Gupta, the general secretary of the state unit of the BJP said, “The move is political. It is not a sign of good governance. We moved the government 15 days ago and got permission for the rally. Why did he not object then? We are taking extra care to protect the field.”

BJP officials asked why the government held the distribution of TET appointment letters to school teachers on May 21, 2012 and the ASEAN car rally on December 17 the same year inside the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium.

Later in the evening, the government issued another statement to clarify that it would not disallow the political meeting by the BJP, for which it has already given permission.

It has not given any instruction to the authorities to cancel the permission for the meeting, the statement said.

However, the government said it would not allow any non-sporting activity in the main stadium in the future.

The directive from the chief minister has been issued to the department to ensure that the playing arena is not damaged, as crores of rupees have been spent for the repair and maintenance of the stadium. The release also said, “Following a misinformation campaign by some leaders of the BJP that the marriage reception of the chief minister’s son, Gaurav Gogoi, was held at the Sarusajai main stadium, the government of Assam would like to clarify that the function was organised at Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium.”

The government directive also came up for discussion during an earlier scheduled meeting of senior BJP leaders to take stock of the preparations at the Sarusajai stadium late in the afternoon.

BJP leader Mriganka Barman, who is looking after security and protocol, told The Telegraph this evening that all possible steps were being taken to ensure a smooth and safe meeting.

“We have already registered 1,500 volunteers with the administration with proper documentary and photo proof. Around 70 volunteers were briefed/trained by the police on managing crowd entry from the main gate and also at the seven gates inside the stadium. They have also been briefed about parking, medical, food and gallery seating arrangements. We are expecting 35,000 people in the gallery and 10,000 on the track, not the football ground, which will be looked after by our volunteers and police. Two members from each of our 24, 000 booths have been invited,” Barman said. A DSP-level officer will be manning each of the eight blocks that the gallery has been divided into for party workers/leader.

“Entry is only through invite. Apart from our members, we have also invited a few leading NGOs and organisations. Participants will be arranging their own food,” Vijay Gupta said. Guwahati is all set to welcome Modi and other VVIPs for the DG-IG conference. Litter and potholes have disappeared on the routes Modi will take.