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Guwahati, May 25: The All Assam Students’ Union today took on chief minister Tarun Gogoi over his “blackmarketeer” comment, asking him whether he had the courage to follow Jawaharlal Nehru’s stand that “such blackmarketeers will be hung from the lamp posts”.

The AASU jibe at Gogoi came a day after the business community took strong exception to the chief minister’s statement that his government can do without the votes of “blackmarketeers” of Fancy Bazar, the state’s commercial hub.

The chief minister made the comment on Sunday at an official public function to mark four years of his government at Dispur.

Leaders of the students’ organisation, addressing a media conference, said Gogoi had no moral right to criticise others on the issue of price rise since the stalwart of Congress and country’s first Prime Minister Nehru could not practice what he preached on punishing blackmarketeers.

“Nehru started preaching about hanging blackmarketeers soon after India became independent. Forget about hanging, the Congress has not yet been able to find a single lamp post. Whenever traders of Fancy Bazar raised the prices of essential commodities, Gogoi’s ministerial colleagues bowed before the former instead of taking action against them. The statement was nothing but a desperate attempt by Gogoi to hide his government’s failure to check price rise,” AASU adviser Sammujjal Bhattacharyya said.

The students’ union also dared Gogoi to prove in public that the former was a product of the RSS. Bhattacharyya said the statement made at the same function on Sunday had only exposed Gogoi’s ignorance about the background of the Assam Agitation.

He said that instead of branding AASU as a product of the RSS, Gogoi should convince Sonia Gandhi to instruct the UPA government to take action against those who demolished the Babri masjid.

“The Liberhan Commission, which probed the demolition of the Babri mosque, listed several leaders from the RSS and Sangh Parivar for leading the country to the brink of communal discord over the Ayodhya issue. Will Gogoi impress upon Sonia Gandhi to take action against those involved in the demolition of the 16th century structure to prove his secular credentials? Bhattacharyya asked.

“The Assam Agitation was led by the people from both Hindu and Muslim communities. Gogoi should not try to create a communal divide in the state by his misinterpretation of the agitation. The RSS cannot dare to approach the AASU at any time,” he said.

AASU general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi said “such a statement was not expected from a person who holds the most responsible office in the state.”