Guwahati, Sep 4 — Raijor Dal Chief and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi has alleged a sharp increase in the declared assets of Congress MP Rakibul Hussain between 2016 and 2024, linking the rise to the period of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Assam and questioning the source of the increase.
Gogoi claimed that Hussain's declared assets rose from Rs 4.38 crore in his 2016 election affidavit to Rs 25.29 crore in his 2024 affidavit.
According to the figures cited by the Raijor Dal legislator, the declared assets increased by Rs 20.91 crore during the eight-year period, amounting to a rise of around 477 per cent.
"During Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's tenure, listen to the untold story of the phenomenal rise in the assets of MP Rakibul Hussain," Gogoi said while raising the issue.
Hussain, a prominent Congress leader in Assam, was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Dhubri constituency in the 2024 general election.
Gogoi's remarks come against the backdrop of growing political differences between the Raijor Dal and the Congress in Assam.
The two parties had joined hands as part of an opposition alliance aimed at taking on the BJP, but the relationship has since deteriorated, with the Congress breaking its alliance with Raijor Dal.
The latest attack by Gogoi on a senior Congress leader is likely to further sharpen the political confrontation between the two former allies ahead of the next round of political contests in the state.
The asset figures referred to by Gogoi are based on election affidavits submitted by Hussain.
Such affidavits disclose assets declared by candidates at the time of elections and do not, by themselves, establish any wrongdoing or provide evidence of an illegal source of wealth.
The reasons behind the reported increase would require examination of the underlying financial and asset records.
Hussain's response to the allegations was not immediately available.
Gogoi has frequently criticised the Congress leadership in Assam over political and organisational issues, while the Congress has also maintained its distance from the Raijor Dal following the breakdown of their alliance.
The controversy over Hussain's declared assets adds another dimension to the widening political differences between the opposition parties in Assam, with Gogoi now using the asset declarations to target both the Congress leader and the state government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.