When will crucial issues be resolved? AASU questions before PM's visit

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting poll-bound Assam on February 22 to address two rallies in Dhemaji and Majuli districts. One of the rallies that the Prime Minister will be addressing, will be held at Silapothar under Dhemaji district while the other will be organized in Majuli. This will be the third visit of the Prime Minister to the poll-bound State this year.

Before the arrival of the Prime Minister at Silapothar, the Dhemaji district unit of All Assam Students' Union (AASU) has expressed strong reaction regarding several burning issues of the district and the State. In a press release sent to media, Dhemaji district AASU president Dipak Sarmah, general secretary-in charge Sanjib Das said that the number of national-level political leaders visiting Assam was increasing at a time when there were only few days to the assembly election.

"It is observed that the national political parties have sponsored cheap politics with the sentiments and emotions of the Assamese community, but they have taken no attempt to resolve the burning issues of the State," the press release stated.

Dhemaji AASU criticized the State Government in strong terms in the press release. "With the promise of permanent resolving the sensitive illegal foreigners' issue, mitigation of flood and erosion problem and resolving the controversial big river dam issue, the Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP government came to power. But in the last days of the five-year term, having sensed the public resentment, the State Government has to take the help of the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister in order to regain power in the upcoming assembly election," the press release asserted.

The president and the general secretary-in charge of the Dhemaji district AASU, through the press release, further delivered a volley of questions calling upon the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister to reply them in public. The organization asked them when exemplary punishment would be rewarded to the communal force which hurt the sentiment of the Assamese nationality and culture at Silapothar on March 6 in 2017, when the perennial flood problem caused by rivers in Dhemaji like Chiyang, Lali, Simen, Gai, Jiyadhol would be mitigated by tagging the flood and erosion problem of the State as national problem and when the landless flood and erosion victims would be rehabilitated?

Through the same press release, AASU central committee organizing secretary Manturaj Baruah, executive member Rajib Gogoi once again demanded the Prime Minister to repeal the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), "which is imposed forcefully to secure the vote banks of BJP by attempting to destroy the Assamese civilization, culture and language". In this regard, the student leaders demanded the BJP to keep the poll promise of resolving the illegal foreigners' issue. They declared that the people of Dhemaji as well as the State would never approve of the CAA.

The organization further demanded to the Prime Minister and Assam Chief Minister to stop their favour towards the controversial Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project being constructed by NHPC Limited at Gerukamukh, by taking U-turn from their previous stand on the issue, and to execute the resolutions of the tripartite meeting held among the organizations of Assam, governments in the State and at the Centre.

"Otherwise, the BJP will have to face massive protest from the Dhemaji district AASU and people of the district in the upcoming assembly election", the press release said.

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