While the death toll in the ethnic violence in Assam went up to 58, the blame game within the political arena was on. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi defended his government against allegations that it was slow to react to the rioting, and failed to anticipate the violence. He said a reduction in Central forces has made his task tougher. Gogoi also ruled out resignation, saying that his resignation over the issue was not going to help matters.

"If they had the intelligence reports, why did they not act on their own then?" Gogoi asked. He further said, "It is my responsibility to get the normalcy back in the area. Had there been full forces there, the situation could have been controlled, I agree. I did not have sufficient forces. I requested the Centre but they had requirements across the country... So I cannot do anything there... It takes time to make movements..."

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