Guwahati : Escalating its offensive against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Tuesday staged a protest at the Manabendra Sharma complex in Dispur, accusing the BJP-led state government of failing to ensure transparency and accountability.

Raising questions over the Chief Minister’s alleged accumulation of assets and recent controversial social media content linked to the ruling party, Congress leaders and workers took to the streets, demanding clarification on what they described as unexplained growth in Sarma’s personal wealth after entering electoral politics.

At the centre of the protest were allegations that the Chief Minister owns large tracts of land, with demonstrators seeking answers to claims that Sarma allegedly possesses “12,000 bighas of land”. The Opposition argued that the public has a right to know how such assets were acquired, particularly after Sarma became an elected representative.

Congress leaders also referred to the Chief Minister’s family background, alleging that before his political career, his wife Riniki Bhuyan lived in a rented house, and questioned how the family’s financial position and influence had expanded over the years.

“If the Chief Minister is a public figure, how can he allegedly possess 12,000 bighas of land? On one hand, the government claims to have distributed benefits to lakhs of people through various schemes, while on the other, common citizens are drowning in debt,” Assam Mahila Congress chief Mira Borthakur said while addressing protesters.

Some demonstrators alleged that government welfare schemes had failed to meaningfully improve the lives of ordinary families. “Whatever schemes the government announces, families cannot survive on them alone. People are burdened with debt, while the Chief Minister appears focused on acquiring property registered in the names of his wife and children,” a protester claimed, also referring to unresolved grievances involving artistes such as Zubeen Garg.

Borthakur also targeted individuals close to the Chief Minister, alleging that he was receiving “misguided advice” from his political associates. “I have repeatedly warned the Chief Minister that if he keeps such company, he will continue to be misled. The people surrounding him are opportunists,” she said.

The Congress also reacted sharply to a controversial video allegedly circulated from a BJP-linked social media handle, purportedly showing the Chief Minister firing a gun at close range. Party leaders described the content as “dangerous”, “undemocratic” and “deeply disturbing”, alleging that it set a troubling precedent.

Earlier in the day, the Congress lodged a formal complaint at Dispur Police Station against the BJP, accusing the party of circulating a communally provocative, AI-generated video from the BJP Assam unit’s official account on a microblogging platform. The BJP and the Chief Minister have not issued an immediate response to the allegations raised during the protest.