The ruling BJP on Saturday directed its Mariani MLA, Rupjyoti Kurmi, to tender a public apology to the people of Assam for his shocking conduct in the state Assembly on Friday where he was heard threatening and abusing Opposition leaders.

BJP’s Assam unit president, Dilip Saikia, in a signed letter to Kurmi, asked him to seek a public apology from the people of Assam for unexpected, shocking behaviour from a senior politician like him. The party found his conduct “against parliamentary traditions”. He was also advised against repeating such unbecoming behaviour in the future.

Kurmi got angry at being disturbed by Opposition Raijor Dal MLA, Akhil Gogoi, and suspended Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed while participating in a discussion on the Public Works Department (PWD). He threatened to break the MLA’s microphone and used unparliamentary words against Opposition leaders, including the leader of the Opposition, Debabrata Saikia.

He subsequently charged towards the Opposition bench but the intervention of the marshalls stopped the situation from escalating. With the Opposition calling for action, deputy Speaker Numal Momin asked him to apologise and expunged the unparliamentary words from the proceedings.

The BJP state unit’s action follows widespread criticism of Kurmi’s behaviour in the House which most said was unprecedented.

Kurmi has been winning the Mariani seat in Upper Assam since 2006. A former Congress leader, he switched to the BJP in 2021 soon after winning the Assembly polls as a Congress candidate. He won the bypolls in November 2021.

Sources said that the BJP cracking down on Kurmi is a damage-control measure to ensure that the issue subsides as soon as possible.

“Since Upper Assam appears sensitive to public utterances and conduct of politicians. One of the reasons for the party’s unexpected loss in the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat was the public utterances/actions of a few BJP MLAs during campaigning. It does not want the Kurmi issue to affect in any way its prospects in the panchayat polls and the Assembly polls next year,” a BJP watcher said.

Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi has been scathing in his attack on the issue.

In a post on X, he alleged the Speaker’s bias “is conspicuous”. The post said: “While I was suspended from the Assembly for demanding a committee of the Assam Legislative Assembly to investigate into the alleged corruption of the irrigation department and Super Sucker issue, the ruling party MLA Rupjyoti
Kurmi was not suspended for crossing the aisle and trying to attack his colleague in the House and Opposition MLA Sherman Ali. I wonder what punishment the Speaker would have imposed on me if I had violated the code
of conduct?”

Saikia has also criticised the untoward incidents in the Assembly triggered by “Kurmi using abusive language and threats to fellow MLAs”. However, there was disquiet in the Congress because of its overall responses to the threat and abuse of Assam MLAs.

Party insiders said it should have ideally hit the streets protesting in full force and flooded social media platforms against the ruling BJP.

“But only a few protests were seen in Sivasagar district and a press conference after over 24 hours at the party office, but not by senior and influential leaders. Such a lacklustre response will not help the party mould public opinion in an election year,” one of them said.