Dibrugarh (Assam)

BJP national president Amit Shah today accused the Congress-led Assam government of misusing central funds, while asking the Chief Minister to “give account of the money allocated by the Centre to the state”.

“For 15 years Assam’s people have brought Tarun Gogoi to power. Has he been able to give 24 hours electricity to each village, pure drinking water, treatment to common people in medical centres?” Shah asked.

Speaking on the reported poll alliance between Congress and minority-dominated All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the BJP president wondered whether it could “give protection to the indigenous people”.

Addressing a party workers’ meeting here, Shah appealed to the people of the state to vote for his party to bring in development and safeguard its borders from illegal migrants.

“Vote for a BJP government in Assam to bring in a corruption-free government that takes the state on the path of progress and development, reduces poverty, gives employment to the jobless and secures the border from illegal migrants”, he said.

“The BJP wants to bring in a ‘desh bhakta’ (patriotic) government so that it brings development to the border state.

The state and the central government will work together for development,” he added.

The meeting was attended by over 50,000 BJP workers from five districts in upper Assam, considered to be a stronghold of the ruling Congress.

Hitting out further at the chief minister, Shah claimed, “Money has come to Assam from the Centre, but no account has been given by the state government. People of Assam are asking you (Gogoi) why Assam has remained far behind other states.”

Shah pointed out that Modi had said in Assam that the country’s progress was not uniform and that the western part was more developed than the eastern and Northeastern region.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought the DoNER to the Northeast to formulate plans here with a Union minister visiting the area every 15 days for finding out the ground reality to speed up the development process here,” he said.

Shah alleged that the international border (between Assam and Bangladesh) had been left unprotected and therefore illegal migrants from Bangladesh entered into the state.

“Has the Congress been successful in stopping the illegal migration from Bangladesh? The understanding we had on border with Bangladesh has been misrepresented. It (India-Bangladesh land Boundary Agreement, 2015) will seal the border of not only Assam but of the entire country,” he claimed.

“The BJP government has started the National Register of Citizens updation process (for identification of illegal migrants) in Assam. It was our commitment,” the party national president said.

Shah also talked about bringing back to Assam the General Secretary of outlawed militant outfit, ULFA, Golap Baruah alias Anup Chetia and said getting him to the state for interrogation was “our priority”.

On improvement of communication facilities in Assam, he said, “The BJP wants to convert the single train tracks to double track as we want the border states to be developed and be secure”.

On the massive erosions taking place in the state, Shah said, “Assam government cannot alone solve it and it is not the problem of the state alone. Both the Central and Assam governments will have to jointly tackle it”.

PTI