New Assam MLAs sworn-in, jailed leader Gogoi draws all attention

Guwahati, May 21 (IANS) Ahead of the first session of the newly-constituted Assam Assembly, all the 126 members including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his predecessor Sarbananda Sonowal, and Congress legislature party leader Debabrata Saikia, were sworn-in.However, all eyes at the ceremony were on jailed farmers leader and Raijor Dal President Akhil Gogoi, elected from Sibsagar seat, who took the oath with special permission from the court.Many Assembly staffers, including women, rushed to take selfies with Gogoi, who is the first in Assam who won the polls from the jail without any physical campaigning. The 46-year-old Independent leader, who was lodged in Guwahati central jail, is currently under treatment at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital. He was brought to the Assembly after being tested for Covid-19.The Raijor Dal founder President was accompanied by several security personnel, most of whom wore face shields and two wore PPE kits. Gogoi was arrested in December 2019 on sedition charges after spearheading the massive protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).Protem Speaker Phani Bhusan Choudhury administered the oath to all the newly-elected legislators, who used various languages including Assamese, Bengali, English, Bodo, Nepali, and Sanskrit.
--IANS sc/vd