Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) president Ripun Bora has said that the current economic crisis in the nation has its impact on the State’s tea industry that has already expressed its inability to pay 20 per cent bonus to tea workers. Blaming the State government on the issue, Bora has also said that instead of ensuring 20 per cent bonus for TE workers through talks with tea companies, the State government has alerted the police to be ready for every eventuality to be created by tea labourers.
Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan here on Monday, Bora said: “It has come to light that Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal government that speaks of welfare of the tea community has been depriving labourers. The State government should have talked to tea companies to ensure 20 per cent bonus for tea workers. However, instead of doing that, it has asked the police to remain alert against any eventuality that may be created by tea estate workers in the State. This is the government of the same BJP that made a number of commitments to the tea community in the run-up to the 2016 Assembly poll in the State and the 2019 Lok Sabha election in the country. The party also committed to hike the daily wage of tea labourers to Rs 351 and to set up 100 high schools in tea estates in the State. There is also a post-poll commitment for opening 1,000 ATMs in tea estates in the State. However, neither the assurance of schools and nor of wage hike has been materialized. Only 250 ATMs have been set up in tea estate areas in the State. During a crisis in the tea industry, the then Congress government did pump in a package of Rs 400 crore to the industry. With the BJP ruling both in the State and at the Centre, why can’t it pump in a package of Rs 1,000 crore to the tea industry now?”
APCC President further said: “The government has taken the side of the management, not of the labourers. We demand the State government to ensure 20 per cent bonus for tea estate labourers.”
Criticizing the BJP on NRC, Bora said: “The BJP has been playing a double standard on this issue. After the publication of the complete draft NRC, BJP president Amit Shah was on record saying that 40 lakh infiltrators would be deported from Assam. The party made NRC a national issue with a view to making it a reality in all other States. However, the same BJP is now engaged in putting hurdles in the publication of the final NRC. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was on record saying that anyone putting hurdles in the NRC update exercise would have to face legal action. However, when barely a few days are left for the publication of the final NRC, BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev made some explosive statements on NRC. Let the Chief Minister take legal action against his own party MLA. The Congress is ready to provide legal aid to genuine Indians not foguring in the final NRC.”
Expressing his party’s faith on the NRC update exercise, APCC President Bora said: “We hope the NRC going to be published will have names of indigenous people of Assam and genuine Indian citizens staying in the State. We also hope that the final NRC will have no names of any illegal foreigners. We appeal to the people of the State to maintain peace. There’re enough scopes for people not figuring in the citizenship list to move foreigners tribunals.”
It is only foreigners tribunals that can give opinions if a person is Indian or not.