The Bodoland People's Front (BPF) on Thursday said that its legislator, Pradeep Brahma, had been arrested on baseless charges by the police and reiterated that he must be released immediately without any condition.
BPF legislator and Assam's Transport and Tourism Minister Chandan Brahma, who met Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in the afternoon in the wake of arrest of Brahma, said that the arrested MLA was innocent. He said he would inform the BPF chairman Hagrama Mohilary about what transpired in his meeting with the chief minister.
The BPF, which is the only ally of the ruling Congress in Assam, maintained that Pradeep Brahma tried his best to protect lives and property of the religious minority community living in his legislative assembly constituency, Kokrajhar West, during the riot last month.
Even as a certain section of the BPF said that the party might resort to snapping its ties with the ruling Congress in the wake of the arrest of Pradeep Brahma, the chief minister said, "It is up to the BPF whether they would continue to remain as an ally of the Congress or not."
The BPF which has 11 MLAs in the Assam assembly was awarded with two ministerial berths by Gogoi though the Congress hardly needed support of the BPF to form the government. In the 2011 Assembly election, Congress won 78 seats in the 126-member Assembly, which was more than enough for it to form the government on its own.
Meanwhile, Bodo Women Justice Forum president Anjali Daimary also termed the arrest of MLA Pradeep Brahma uncalled for and said that such an action would not augur well for restoring peace and normalcy in violence-hit areas.