STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI Raising a number of charges against the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) alleged that the saffron party-led coalition government has failed on its key promises as well.
The 37-page 'charge sheet' in a booklet form in Assamese was released by AICC (All India Congress Committee) general secretary and party's in charge of Assam Jitendra Singh Alwar in front of the media at the Rajiv Bhawan here, on Sunday. The same booklet was also released by the Chief Minister of Chattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel in Dibrugarh. Party leaders and members were present on the occasion.
Among the issues which the Congress alleged that the BJP failed to address during its last five-year rule in Assam are the foreigners' issue, NRC (National Register of Citizens), price rise, syndicate raj, and floods to mention a few. The main points of the charge sheet as mentioned in the party booklet are as follows:
"Failure to protect jati-mati-bheti: Before coming to power, the BJP had promised to protect the jati-mati-bheti (community-land-base) but instead imposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on the people of Assam. CAA is posing a threat to the language, culture and identity of the people of Assam. It is giving a red carpet welcome to illegal migrants to settle in Assam. The saffron brigade has failed to implement the Assam Accord in letter and spirit, and also Clause-VI, as promised by them.
"Putting NRC on the shelf: The BJP had promised to finish the work of updating the NRC (National Register of Citizens), started by the Congress, which would help identify foreigners. But, the party has stalled the process of NRC for reasons best known to them. It is affecting the genuine citizens who did not find their names in the document.
"No foreigner expelled: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in Assam in 2014 that, after May 16, all Bangladeshis will have to leave bag and baggage. The BJP had also stated that there were 50 lakh Bangladeshis in Assam. That this was a false statement is made apparent by the figures of the Home Ministry, according to which, 989 people in 2014, 474 in 2015, 308 in 2016 and 51 persons in 2017 were expelled as Bangladeshis. The number has further dwindled to 50 Bangladeshis pushed out of the country in 2018 and 2019. The numbers prove as to how many illegal migrants the Modi government has actually deported.
"No jobs to unemployed: Before the 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP had promised to provide employment to the youths — a promise to employ five lakh unemployed in the State every year. Like other promises, the BJP failed to deliver on this promise too. There are around 3 lakh posts lying vacant in different departments at present and the number of unemployed in the State has reached 40 lakh. The Central government has, in fact, stopped appointments in government offices, public sector undertakings and nationalized banks.
"Appointment scams: Instead of jobs, the young men and women of Assam have been regularly presented with appointment scams. There have been a series of recruitment scandals — in 2018, the scam in the appointment to 145 posts in the Panchayat & Rural Development Department and another related to 1,000 posts in the same department. Then, the Assam Police SI recruitment scam of huge proportions came to light, where senior serving and retired police officers were arrested. The rot has set in deep during the BJP's tenure.
"Assam's resources being sold cheap: The BJP has been selling our prized resources, from oil fields to the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International airport to corporate houses that are close to the Modi regime.
"Syndicate Raj: During the time of the BJP ruling the State, there has been a mushrooming of syndicates — from essentials like fruits, vegetables, fish and eggs to coal and cattle.
"Abnormal price rise: The general public is being made to feel the pinch as prices of essential commodities as well as fuel have gone through the roof. Petrol, diesel and LPG prices have more than doubled while the rise in prices of vegetables, (pulses) dal, and cooking oil has made living tough for people everywhere.
"Tea workers' concerns ignored: The BJP government in Assam has failed to increase the daily wages for tea workers, despite a clamour among the tea workers' associations and a promise by the government to raise the wage to Rs 351. The jugglery used by the Sonowal government to increase Rs 50 for the interim period has failed, with tea companies taking the government to court for not adhering to regulations. The promise to provide ST (Scheduled Tribe) status to over one hundred sub- tribes of the Adivasi tea community was also not kept by the BJP.
"Back track on 'Scheduled Tribe' status: Keeping true to its colours, BJP has backtracked on the promise of providing ST (Scheduled Tribe) status to six tribes of Assam. The party's national president, JP Nadda even told an outright lie when he said at a Silchar rally on January 11 that ST status has been granted to the concerned tribes.
"Flood and erosion problem: The BJP has failed to solve the flood and erosion problem faced by Assam or declare it as a national problem, despite promises made from time to time. PM Modi is finding the time to visit Assam to address election rallies but he never came when the State was reeling under flood waters. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has the audacity to promise that the BJP will solve the flood and erosion problem if voted to power this time, which clearly means that the BJP did not do anything in the last five years. In 2017, the then Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari had promised Rs 233.45 crore to save Majuli — CM Sonowal's own constituency — from erosion. But, the project is yet to be completed.
"Farmers denied MSP: The BJP's vision document had promised the State's farmers that they will get the MSP (minimum support price) for paddy. But only 1 per cent of the total paddy produced was procured at that price. Farmers will soon have to protest on the roads for not getting proper prices. The Farm Acts passed by the BJP has farmers across the country protesting against the unfair legislations."