Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: Raijor Dal president and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi began an indefinite satyagraha on October 2 at 10.30 am. He set up his protest near the Gandhi statue at the Assam Assembly premises in Guwahati. The legislator demands immediate financial assistance for families impacted by floods in Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, and Golaghat districts.
Gogoi claims the government owes victims a one-time interim payment of Rs 15,000, plus an additional Rs 10,000 for families in Sivasagar and Charaideo. He reports that 30 to 40 per cent of affected households have received nothing. While 70 per cent reportedly got the initial payment, the remaining Rs 10,000 remains unpaid. Furthermore, he wants Rs 10 lakh in compensation for families that suffered major losses.
The protest follows a September 23 public meeting at Chachal Dharna Ground where activists set an October 1 deadline. After the government missed this mark, Gogoi acted. He wrote to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Chief Secretary on October 3 to renew his demands. "I would like to reiterate that till the demands are fulfilled by the government, my Satyagraha would be continued," Gogoi wrote.
Gogoi has remained on-site for over 24 hours. He reports that no Cabinet minister, the Chief Secretary, or the Chief Minister has engaged with him. He criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to visit the state to assess the disaster. He dismissed state government surveys as ineffective, noting that officials often cite poor financial health to delay further funding.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma countered these claims. He accused Gogoi of chasing political clout rather than helping residents. Sarma stated the government identified 55,000 families for aid but argued that the ongoing agitation is stalling the release of funds. Sarma insists the Sivasagar victims will receive compensation only if the MLA stops his protest.
Updated at 4th October 2026 at 1:48am
Gogoi has expanded his campaign beyond local relief efforts, calling for the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The MLA accused the poll chief of mocking democracy and turning the Constitution into a farce. He urged youth and intellectuals across the country to mobilize against the Election Commission over alleged electoral roll manipulation, warning that failure to step down could eventually force a demand for Prime Minister Modi to resign.
The Chief Minister doubled down on his stance, alleging that Gogoi is manufacturing the crisis to claim personal credit for government-led relief efforts. Sarma claims the standoff over the optics of the aid distribution has hampered the state's ability to clear payments to the flood victims.
Updated at 4th October 2026 at 9:48am
The pressure is shifting to the capital. The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) brought the state's flood crisis to New Delhi, staging a protest at Bhai Veer Singh Marg. Around 100 members submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding that the Centre declare Assam’s recurring floods and erosion a national problem and establish an expert panel to investigate the causes of the recent Upper Assam deluge.
DYFI state secretary Nirankush Nath slammed the Centre, claiming that from 2014 to 2024, flood damage in the state hit Rs 37,000 crore, yet the Union government provided only Rs 6,000 crore despite a state request for over Rs 22,000 crore. The organization is pushing for the creation of a North-East Water Management Authority to handle the issue, citing the limitations of current state-level responses.
The youth group also targeted the rapid expansion of hydropower projects in the ecologically fragile Eastern Himalaya. Nath claimed over 130 approved projects now lack cumulative downstream impact assessments, creating potential water bombs for lower-lying areas. They are demanding an immediate halt to dam construction until a comprehensive study is completed.
The DYFI’s list of demands is steep, calling for one-time livelihood assistance of Rs 1 lakh per family, Rs 20 lakh for families of the deceased, and a guarantee of 200 days of work under state schemes to rebuild wrecked villages. They allege that while the state received an SDRF advance of Rs 379 crore, the promised NDRF funds remain frozen.
Updated at 4th October 2026 at 5:47pm
Gogoi has escalated the dispute by offering to sign a written undertaking that he seeks no personal credit for the relief efforts. He dismissed the Chief Minister's claims of political grandstanding as a distraction from the government's failure to deliver aid, citing the poor quality of distributed materials like bed sheets as evidence of state incompetence.
The MLA issued a specific challenge to end the standoff. He declared that he will pull the plug on his protest immediately if Sarma travels to the Kamakhya Temple and takes an oath to ensure all pending flood relief payments are cleared within two days.
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