GUWAHATI, 20 Mar: The Congress on Wednesday accused the BJP-led government of misrule, corruption and nepotism, and claimed that the opposition alliance will win most of the Lok Sabha seats in Assam.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Jitendra Singh released a document, named ‘charge sheet’, levelling 60 allegations against the ruling coalition.
The document has been prepared by the United Opposition Forum Assam (UOFA), formed in the state with 16 parties in line with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
“This charge sheet includes charges of misrule, corruption and nepotism against both the Narendra Modi government and Himanta Biswa Sarma government. There are 60 serious charges in the document,” Singh said at a press conference here.
He alleged that the “world’s biggest scam” is electoral bonds and thanked the Supreme Court for disbanding as well as making them public.
“There are companies which have a net worth of Rs. 500 crore, but donated Rs. 1,200 crore through electoral bonds. So, this indicates money laundering also,” Singh claimed.
He alleged that there are at least 25 companies who purchased the bonds after they were raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), CBI and other central agencies.
“For Assam, Narendra Modi sent his biggest representative, Himanta Biswa Sarma to loot the state. Name any area — tea gardens, flyovers, road constructions — massive corruptions are taking place,” Singh alleged.
During the BJP’s tenure, around 7,000 schools have been closed across the state, but licences for opening liquor shops are given in every colony, he alleged.
He said the ruling NDA government has also betrayed the tea garden workers, who are getting a daily wage of Rs. 250 in Brahmaputra valley and Rs. 228 in Barak valley as against BJP’s promise of Rs. 351 per day.
“The last betrayal is CAA. The people of Assam sacrificed immensely during the Assam Agitation for getting the Assam Accord. But the CAA will practically make it invalid,” Singh claimed.
He also said the UOFA will win most of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam, but declined to put a figure.
“Our candidate list is the best. Everyone is happy with the candidates and many common people have told us so. We are confident that the opposition alliance will win the highest number of seats this time,” he said.
Talking about the ‘charge sheet’, Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan said he along with deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party Rakibul Hussain did a lot of research while preparing the document.
“If we take a scale of 100, then out of the 100 promises made by Himanta Biswa Sarma, only 25 were fulfilled. In the case of Modi, it is zero,” said the president of Jatiya Dal-Asom (JDA).
UOFA chief spokesperson Akhil Gogoi claimed the number of unemployed youths in Assam has risen to over 32 lakh from 16 lakh in 2016 when BJP first came to power in the state.
“BJP always says that there is a free flow of funds from the centre to the state. However, shockingly all funds from Delhi have been cut over the years. The only increase is seen in loan income. As of now, there is a loan burden of Rs. 1,48,238 crore on the state exchequer,” Gogoi, an MLA, said.
The price rise of essential commodities like food items, construction materials and life-saving drugs has been highest during the BJP government, he claimed.
The ‘charge sheet’ leveled various allegations such as illegal coal mining, illegal immigration, deforestation, recruitment scam, crime against women, eviction of indigenous people and communal polarisation. (PTI)