The Assam BJP has written to the party’s parliamentary board to take action against Hojai MLA Shiladitya Dev for allegedly making controversial statements.

The parliamentary board is the highest decision-making body of the BJP.

State BJP spokesperson Rupam Goswami on Saturday confirmed that the party’s state president Ranjeet Kumar Dass has written to the BJP parliamentary board on Friday, seeking disciplinary action against Dev for repeatedly making provocative statements that can disturb peace and communal harmony in Assam.

With the arrest of pro-talks Ulfa leaders Mrinal Hazarika and Jiten Dutta on Friday on charges of making inflammatory statements, there has been an outcry for arrest of all those leaders, including Dev, who make similar statements.

On being asked what action will be taken against Dev, Goswami said, “The law will take its own course. Strong action will be taken against whoever is found guilty, even if he is an MLA.”

Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Dass had on Friday said anybody who makes a provocative statement, even an MLA, will not be spared.

BJP sources said in the recent past, Dev had been warned by the party twice not to make any provocative statement but he apparently refused to mend his ways as a result of which the party’s state leadership was left with no option other than write to the BJP parliamentary board against him.

In a related development, RTI activist Dulal Bora filed an FIR against Dev at Dispur police station on Friday night, holding the proactive statements made by him responsible for the killing of five men at Dhola in Tinsukia district by unidentified gunmen on Thursday night.

In his FIR, Bora said Dev should face action similar to the two pro-talks Ulfa leaders who were arrested for making provocative statements.

On Friday, Dharmakanta Gogoi, president of Anti-Corruption Youth Power, Assam, an NGO, had also lodged an FIR at Dispur police station against Dev, Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, former Congress MLA Chandan Sarkar and a few other Bengali leaders for making provocative statements.

A police source said they have collected visuals of the recent statements made by Dev and these visuals are being examined after which necessary action will be taken.