Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said he was beaten up by police and jailed for seven days in Assam during the tenure of the Congress government led by Hiteswar Saikia.

Shah was speaking at the inauguration of the first phase of the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy in Dergaon in Golaghat district before flying to Aizawl to mark the relocation of Assam Rifles headquarters from Aizawl to Zokhawsanga.

Flaying the Congress government, Shah said he had been visiting Assam since his student days and had to face police batons during the tenure of chief minister Saikia. “I have also spent seven days in jail. People from all across used to come to save Assam. We used to raise slogan against Indira Gandhi like ‘Assam ki galiyan sooni hain, Indira Gandhi khooni hain’,” Shah recalled without mentioning when he was jailed.

Saikia was the chief minister for two terms — from February 28, 1983, to December 28, 1985, and from June 30, 1991, to April 22, 1996. He passed away in 1996.

Shah said the Congress “plunged Assam into the fire of riots and kept it in a state of turmoil”, but “peace has been established in Assam, and now world-class infrastructure is being developed along with major industries” by the Narendra Modi government.

Assam Congress leader Debabrata Saikia said he did not know if Shah’s claims were true.

“Only the BJP government can verify if it is true or false. In Assam, the rule of law was followed by the Congress at that time. Anti-socials were put behind bars. These are all subject to verification. Like our Prime Minister claims he was involved in the Bangladesh War of Liberation... this fact also has to be verified,” Saikia said.

Modi had in 2021 said he and his colleagues had staged a satyagraha for the freedom of Bangladesh for which he was sent to jail when he was in his early 20s.

Shah said the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy would be ranked first among all police academies in the country in the next five years.

“It will be an apex police academy not only for Assam but for the entire Northeast, similar to Kashi among pilgrimage sites. The site will be a new beginning for peace in the region,” he said.

He said the first phase of the academy had been completed for ₹167 crore and a total of ₹1,050 crore would be spent on all three phases.

In Aizawl, Shah said the dream of the Mizo people had finally been realised after over 35 years with the relocation of Assam Rifles from Aizawl’s urban area to Zokhawsanga.

He said the move was aimed at fostering Aizawl’s development and improving the quality of life for its residents. He congratulated the people of Mizoram and assured them of the Centre’s continued commitment to their welfare.

Shah thanked Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma and director-general of Assam Rifles, Lieutenant General Vikas Lakhera, for making the relocation possible.

Lalduhoma said the relocation of Assam Rifles headquarters was a step towards making Aizawl “a more livable and well-planned city”.