Chaygaon (Assam), Jul 16 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday claimed that the BJP had to borrow his party member to form a government in Assam, taking a jibe at Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Alleging massive corruption under the BJP government in the state, he asserted that those involved will be sent to jail after next year’s assembly elections in the state.
“The BJP had been trying to form the government in Assam for decades, but were not able to do so. It was only after borrowing a member from us and making him the chief minister, they could form their own government,” Kharge said, addressing a Congress workers’ meet at Chaygaon, about 40 km from Guwahati.
“The man who ran away from the Congress is now the chief minister of Assam,” he added. Sarma was a minister in the Congress government in Assam before he switched to the BJP in 2015.
Kharge criticised Sarma for his recent remarks that people of the state should rear pigs to save their lands from people of a certain religion and said, “The CM is spreading venom with such remarks. The law and order is under you, and you are saying such things.” Alleging that the current BJP dispensation in the state is indulging in massive corruption, Kharge said, “Those who have wronged people will be sent to jail. They should repair prisons now, as they will have to stay there.” Questioning the development as claimed by the “double-engine” governments of the BJP at the Centre and the state, the Congress leader said, “What we saw today is that to travel 30 km from Guwahati, it took us two hours. Is this the development this government claims ?” He claimed that people in Assam were being “threatened in the garb of detecting illegal immigrants”, and asserted that they would teach a lesson to the BJP-led government in next year’s election.
On eviction drives in Assam, Kharge said that if the Congress forms the government in the state, it will rebuild the houses and pay compensation to those affected by such actions of the BJP dispensation.
The Congress president also took a swipe at the BJP over a recent controversy in the state over the allocation of Gir cows and said, “I had heard that they are cow worshippers, but they turned out to be ‘cow thieves’ here.” The media is also being threatened and though some may step back due to such fear tactics, those who are not afraid will stand with the people, he asserted.
He also claimed that the BJP government could apply tactics like voter list revision, delimitation of constituencies against the Congress in Assam, and urged the party members to be vigilant to defeat such attempts.
Kharge said that if the Congress is voted to power, it will guarantee education for children, jobs for youth in Assam and maximum wages for tea garden workers.
He also claimed that the Dalits and people belonging to SC, ST and OBC communities have to be alert, or else their reservations would be “taken away” by the BJP government at the Centre.
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kharge said, “Modi visited five countries in five days, but he could not find two hours to come to strife-torn Manipur.” “Two days back, I saw Modi distributing appointment letters. Never had I seen Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao or their own Vajpayee doing it,” he said.
“This is not your job, your job is to ensure the security of the nation,” he asserted.
Kharge also questioned the BJP government’s contribution to nation-building and said, “During Pandit Nehru’s tenure, large factories, PSUs were built. But there is no such achievement in your regime that people will remember in the future.” He alleged that Modi was allowing his “friends” to loot the poor and take away their riches, claiming a share for himself and his party.
He further said the people have to come together to “save” the Constitution.
“The Constitution is the basis of our democracy. RSS, BJP are trying to change it,” he claimed.
Kharge urged the party workers to unite under the new state president Gaurav Gogoi and ensure that the current government is toppled in next year’s election. PTI SSG BDC SSG ACD
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Yeah, some people don’t like to getting fed biscuits