Assam PCC president Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday extended support to Debabrata Saikia, leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly, following former AAMSU president Rejaul Karim Sarkar’s allegation that Saikia was a “BJP agent” within the Congress.

Responding to queries on Sarkar’s resignation, Gogoi told reporters in Delhi that comparing Sivasagar and Dhubri was “wrong and inappropriate” and it was equally inappropriate to call Saikia a BJP agent. He asserted there was no internal conflict in the Congress. A statement issued by the Assam PCC quoted Gogoi as saying Saikia had shared similar views and both leaders have advised party members to exercise restraint while speaking publicly in poll-bound Assam.

Saikia, a three-time MLA, said he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the accusation. “Had it been true, the party would have acted against me over the last ten years,” he said.

Sarkar, who resigned two days after joining the Congress, cited “moral and ideological anguish” in his resignation letter, saying Saikia and MP Pradyut Bordoloi’s public criticism had “maligned” his image. He added: “I find it difficult to continue in a party with BJP agents like Saikia and Bordoloi.”

Sarkar had clarified on Monday that his controversial comment about “turning Sivasagar into Dhubri” was meant to express a vision for a peaceful, inclusive Assam.

However, the BJP seized on the remark, interpreting it as an intent to turn Upper Assam’s Sivasagar into a Miya-majority district. Miyas, or Bengali-speaking Muslims, are widely viewed in Upper Assam as illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

The BJP’s attack forced the Congress, seeking revival in Upper Assam, into damage control.