Senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday reaffirmed her party’s commitment to ensuring swift justice for Assamese music icon Zubeen Garg, repeating the promise of delivering it within 100 days if voted to power. The assurance forms part of the Congress’ five key guarantees for the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam.
Currently campaigning in the state, Gandhi addressed a public rally in Nazira, where she outlined the Congress’ broader agenda for a “new Assam.” She highlighted a range of proposed welfare measures, including financial assistance for women and small businesses, health insurance coverage, land rights, and justice for Zubeen Garg.
She said, “The Congress wants justice for Zubeen Garg. As soon as we form the government, within 100 days, we will get justice for him. Today, all local ‘Bhumiputras’ have received land pattas that are temporary. We will give permanent land deeds instead of temporary ones to 10 lakh local sons of the soil.”
The Congress MP further said, “Raise your heads, puff out your chests, and make up your mind that with the new government, a new Assam will come. Your Assam, that Assam which was Zubeen Garg ji’s dream, that Assam which is in your hearts, that Assam which is everyone’s dream, in which your children’s future becomes bright, in which this corruption stops. In which your children can stand with pride and say ‘We are of Assam, we have made this state, we get employment in Assam’, and in which your and our sisters can stand and say that yes, someone is listening to us, we are safe in our state, we get employment, we get fair wages.”
Launching a sharp attack on the BJP-led governments both at the Centre and in the state, Gandhi accused them of running what she termed a regime of “double-slavery.” She urged voters to support a Congress alternative centred on welfare and public service, describing the upcoming elections as a crucial turning point for Assam’s future.
She alleged that the state government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma and the central government under Narendra Modi had failed to prioritise public welfare, instead operating through fear and self-interest.
Taking aim at the BJP’s “double-engine government” narrative, Gandhi described it as a betrayal of public trust, claiming that rather than ensuring development, it had resulted in what she called a system of subjugation.
She further alleged that the Prime Minister had become dependent on foreign powers, while the Assam Chief Minister remained subservient to the Centre. According to her, this dynamic was now extending to the people of Assam, undermining the state’s dignity and autonomy.
The Congress leader concluded by urging voters to reject politics driven by fear and coercion, and instead choose a government that functions transparently and strengthens Assam’s cultural and social fabric.
