Raijor Dal MLAs walk out of Assam assembly, demand release of 2 arrested rights activists

Guwahati, Jul 13 (PTI) The two Raijor Dal legislators staged a walkout of the Assam Assembly on Monday to protest against the arrest of two rights activists. Midway during the Question Hour, party MLAs Akhil Gogoi and Mehboob Muktar stood up and demanded the release of the two apprehended activists, Pranab Doley and Aditya Rabha. Both the MLAs wore black clothes, while Gogoi displayed a placard with 'Free Aditya Rabha, Pranab Doley' written on it in Assamese. As Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass asked them to take their seats, the two Raijor Dal legislators walked out of the House in protest. Doley, who has been leading protests over various issues relating to indigenous people’s rights and proposed five-star hotels near Kaziranga National Park, was reportedly detained by police from Guwahati on Sunday. Rabha, also involved with the land rights movement, was apprehended last week in connection with alleged financial irregularities in a cooperative small savings bank. PTI SSG SSG BDC