Silchar, July 1: Congress leader Gautam Roy today criticised former chief minister Tarun Gogoi for the party's debacle in the Assembly elections.

Roy, an influential Congress leader in Barak Valley, today held Gogoi responsible for the defeat of the Congress in the polls. "Gogoi is a good man but he is ignorant. We worked hard but never got the recognition. He took the credit for every good thing that happened during the past few years," he said.

The former social welfare minister also accused Gogoi and his few cabinet ministers of having a lackadaisical attitude towards Barak Valley. "Though I was given a ministerial berth by Gogoi, he never gave us the space to raise our issues. We could not intimate the problems of Barak Valley as he never listened to us," he said.

Roy said Ajanta Neog was the PWD minister for a very long time but she had not even spent a week in the three valley districts. "The condition of roads in Barak Valley has been deteriorating. We informed the PWD ministry but no action was taken. Because of the negligence of some Congress ministers, the party lost its ground in Assam," he said.

A six-time legislator from Katlicherra constituency in Hailakandi district, Roy lost in the Assembly elections by 15,084 votes to AIUDF candidate Sujam Uddin Laskar.

"Not only Gogoi but also our former state Congress president Anjan Dutta was responsible for the poor performance of the party. If he (Dutta) had taken firm steps, the situation could have been different today," he added.

From five seats in 2011, the BJP notched up 60 out of 126 Assembly seats this time, while its allies - the AGP and the BPF - secured 26 seats. The Congress could only get 26 seats.

Showering praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the Congress leader said the BJP was seeking to strike a chord with the people. "I am not a BJP-hater. If one does well, we should support him. The BJP has taken off well in Assam and I express my gratitude to Sonowal for being concerned about the development of Barak Valley," he said.

On the rumours that he was likely to join the BJP, Roy brushed aside the speculation: "God has blessed me with every single thing that I wanted. I have no further ambition. I have been in the Congress for many decades and I will never join any other party in my lifetime."

Roy also suggested the Congress high command should entrust the responsibility of the Assam Congress chief to a young leader who could bring back the lost glory of the grand old party.