News Analysis India

Tag: Assam assembly elections

  • Successive Congress govts gave unemployment, insurgency, infiltration to Assam: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

    By PTI
    PALASBARI: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday alleged that the successive Congress governments in Assam had given only unemployment, violence, insurgency and infiltration.

    On the Congress electoral tie-ups with parties like Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in Assam and the Indian Secular Force floated by a Muslim cleric in West Bengal, he claimed that Rahul Gandhi is “going the Jinnah way”.

    Addressing an election rally at Palasbari of Kamrup district, Chouhan said development in the state came in only after the BJP formed government five years ago.

    “The Congress ruled Assam for so many years, but what did they give? The Congress governments gave only unemployment, violence, insurgency and infiltration,” the senior BJP leader said.

    The people of the North-Eastern state could see the first glimpse of development when Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed power and a BJP government took charge of Assam in 2016, Chouhan claimed.

    “I also request you all that do not trust the five guarantees of the Congress. They never fulfil their promises. 0You go to other states where Rahul Gandhi had promised to waive farm loans within 10 days of forming governments,” he added.

    The Congress has “guaranteed” that if it is voted to power, a law will be enacted to nullify the CAA, five lakh government jobs will be given, 200 units of electricity will be free for all, housewives will get Rs 2,000 per month and minimum wages of tea garden workers will be raised to Rs 365.

    Addressing a press conference in Guwahati later, Chouhan claimed that after the Congress came to power in Madhya Pradesh in 2018, it did not waive agricultural loans.

    The Kamal Nath government in MP fell in 2020 following a rebellion in the Congress camp and Chouhan became chief minister.

    He presented some video clips of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi promising to waive farm loans, which were claimed to be made before the 2018 assembly election in MP.

    The chief minister claimed that farmers in his state stopped paying instalments after Congress formed the government.

    But as it did not waive farm loans, banks sent notices to farmers to recover the loans with more interests, Chouhan said.

    “Rahul Gandhi is telling lies everywhere. I think in the name Rahul, R stands for rejected, A for absent-minded, H for hopeless, U for useless and L for liar,” Chouhan said.

    Likewise, in the case of the INC (Indian National Congress), I stands for irresponsible, N for nepotism and C for corrupt, he added.

    “The Congress has joined hands with (AIUDF president) Badruddin Ajmal, who is harbouring infiltrators.

    The Assamese culture and heritage will be threatened by Ajmal.

    “The Congress tied up with the Muslim League in Kerala, Furfura Sharif in West Bengal and Ajmal in Assam. Rahul Gandhi is going the Jinnah way,” Chouhan said.

    The CPI(M)-headed Left Front and the Congress have joined hands with the newly-formed Indian Secular Front floated by Abbas Siddiqui, an influential Muslim cleric of Furfura Sharif in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, to forge an alliance.

    Earlier this month, Chouhan had claimed that instead of following Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress is following in ‘Jinnah’s footsteps’ and it will ‘destroy’ the country.

    Chouhan said that if voted to power, the saffron party will come up with a law to prevent love jihad, as has been done in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

    The word “love jihad” is used by right-wing activists to refer to the alleged campaign of Muslims forcing Hindu girls to convert in the guise of love.

  • Assam polls: Rahul Gandhi slams Modi govt for ‘rising’ unemployment

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed the Narendra Modi government for “increasing” the problem of unemployment in the country. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi says about ‘Make in India’. But go to any part of the country, you will find that the unemployment problem has risen in every state,” Gandhi told a crowd at a rally in poll-bound Assam’s Mariani.

    The Mariani seat, where the fate of candidates is determined by tea garden voters, has been held by the Congress for 15 years. “I told you demonetisation and GST destroyed small and middle-size businesses in the country. They started an attack on the farmers by bringing three new Bills. They are trying to snatch the farmers’ rights. In the entire country, they had spread unemployment,” Gandhi alleged.

    He said the Congress, if voted to power in Assam, would give five lakh jobs by filling up the vacant posts in government departments. He committed that the Congress would also help small and middle-size businesses and industries.

    ALSO READ | Congress will hike wages of tea workers in 6 hours of coming to power in Assam, not to implement CAA : Rahul Gandhi

    “Wherever the BJP goes, it makes promises. I am not here to tell lies. I made some commitments ahead of elections in Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh. I had said farmers’ loans would be waived off.After the Congress had won the polls in Chhattisgarh, the farmers’ loans were waived off in six hours…

    “If the Congress party chief minister is appointed in Assam, I promise that the tea workers will get a daily wage of Rs 365. You will also get electricity for free up to 200 units and women will get monthly income support of Rs 2,000,” Gandhi committed.

    The last of the Congress’s five “guarantees” is that it will not allow the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam. “They tried to implement the CAA but the Congress had stood up against it in the Rajya Sabha as well as the Lok Sabha. We thwarted it. I tell you the CAA won’t come to Assam,” Gandhi promised.

    He also promised that the Congress would protect the culture, language, tradition, and history of Assam and would not allow the state to be run by Nagpur.

  • Congress openly backed global conspirators who were out to discredit ‘Assam tea’: PM Modi

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Raking up the Toolkit issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the people in the country would not forgive the Congress for openly supporting those who were trying to destroy the identity of Assam tea.

    “As I have come to you, I cannot help telling you of a pain I am going through. You must have heard about Toolkit in recent times. A global conspiracy was hatched to defame Assam tea and Yoga which is a gift by the sages. The conspirators want the Assam tea gardens to suffer huge losses… The Congress, which ruled the country for 50-55 years, is openly supporting the conspirators. How does it dare seek votes in Assam? Can we forgive the party?” Modi asked a crowd while addressing a rally in Assam’s Chabua.

    The Toolkit is a document that educates and amplifies the cause of the protest. On February 4, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg had tweeted a toolkit related to the farmers’ protest in India.

    ALSO READ | The game is over: PM Modi, BJP lash out at Mamata Banerjee in Bengal

    The Chabua constituency in Upper Assam, which is a tea belt, has a sizeable number of tea garden voters. “There is tea in the name Chabua. We all know how the tea of Chabua is spreading its aroma worldwide…Who can understand the problems of tea workers better than a chaiwala,” Modi said.

    He claimed the Congress was steadily getting squeezed. “The Congress was once the biggest party of the country. But, it is now constantly getting squeezed. There is no respect for talent in it today. What matters the most for the Congress is the lust for power. It can take the help of any and give support to any for power. It does not matter for them if lies are needed to be told for it. With false promises, he has come to Assam on a tour. Be wary of him,” the PM said, alluding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who is in the state.

    Modi claimed Assam constantly required the BJP and the NDA for the maintenance of peace and stability. He said the time was very crucial for the state. “From land to art, Assam has huge potentials for progress. We have to be vocal for local. We have to constantly work to take Assam to greater heights. Only the double engines of Central and Assam governments can do this work,” he said.

  • Accompanied by 2 CMs and Modi’s minister, Himanta files nomination amid cheers by sea of supporters 

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: In a show of might that could befit royalty, Assam Minister and BJP’s Northeast face Himanta Biswa Sarma filed his nomination paper in the presence of two Chief Ministers and some BJP Central leaders on Friday.

    It is rare that the Chief Minister of another state attends a mere filing of nomination paper by a leader.

    When Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal, his Manipur counterpart N Biren Singh, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and BJP leader Baijayant Panda were seated at the office of Kamrup (Metro) Returning Officer in Guwahati, Sarma arrived with thousands of supporters following a 1.5-km roadshow.

    He is contesting from the Jalukbari seat, which covers parts of Guwahati and the city outskirts. The four-time powerful Minister has held the prestigious seat since 2001.

    “I seek the blessings of people for the candidates of BJP and (its allies) AGP (Asom Gana Parishad) and UPPL (United People’s Party Liberal),” Sarma told journalists after filing his nomination.

    ALSO READ | Congress and AIUDF alliance threat to Assamese culture, says Himanta Biswa Sarma

    Earlier in the day, after offering his prayers at the Kamakhya temple, he had told journalists that he was confident of a big win.

    “I had lost the 1996 elections by a few thousand votes. I won all subsequent elections. My margin of victory also increased every poll. I had won the 2016 election by 86,000 votes. This time, there are 2.02 lakh voters (in the Jalukbari seat). I am confident that I will win by 1.2-1.5 lakh votes,” the Minister said.

    He had won the 2001, 2006, and 2011 elections as a Congressman. In 2015, he had defected to the BJP after falling out with the then CM Tarun Gogoi.

    As his open vehicle was heading to the RO’s office, the supporters cheered, danced, and shouted slogans in his favour as well as in favour of BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He accepted floral garlands and “gamosas” from supporters and waved at them all the way.

    Both Sonowal and Singh exuded confidence that the BJP would be able to retain power for its various development initiatives and good governance.

    A master election strategist who is widely known for his political acumen, Sarma was instrumental in scripting BJP’s victory in Assam and some other states in the Northeast.

  • Assam polls: BJP spreads hatred wherever it goes, says Rahul Gandhi

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday reiterated that BJP fans hatred wherever it goes.

    “Do you think there is a connection between hatred and unemployment? I will answer the question. There is indeed a link between the two. If hatred rises, unemployment too will rise and vice versa. Congress roots out hatred, BJP spreads it. Peace and brotherhood are the prerequisites for business and progress. Congress brings those,” Gandhi said interacting with a group of college students at Lahowal in poll-bound Assam’s Dibrugarh.

    “No matter where they go, they will spread hatred. No religion teaches enmity,” he said.

    He renewed his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly favouring only a select few industrialists.

    “In today’s India, the youth cannot get jobs. PM Modi spoke of a start up ‘Make in India’ but if you check shirts, shoes and mobile phones, you’ll find ‘Made in China’ written on them. We want to see ‘Made in Assam’ and ‘Made in India’. BJP cannot do it. It works only for a select few industrialists,” Gandhi said.

    He slammed the PM for allegedly destroying small and middle size businesses through demonetisation.

    “At 8 pm one day, PM says he is demonetising currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations. That one step destroyed small and middle size businesses in the country and rendered lakhs of people jobless,” the Congress leader said.

    “He lied before you saying that it’s a fight against black money. I want to ask you if the problem of black money is over. The goal behind demonetisation was to take out money from the poor’s pockets and put it in the pockets of country’s two-three of the richest people,” Gandhi said.

    He said Modi did not stop there; he had then come up with GST. He committed that if voted to power, the Congress would hike the daily wage of Assam’s tea garden workers from Rs 167 to Rs 365.

    “Daily wage of Rs 365 is my guarantee. The way we waived off the loans of farmers in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, we will give you a daily wage of Rs 365 if we are voted to power,” Gandhi said with his message directed at tea workers at a rally in Chabua in Dibrugarh. 

  • Congress has no ‘neta, no ‘niti’: PM Modi in Assam

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Congress has become so weak that it can go to any extent and partner anyone.

    “The Congress does neither have a ‘neta’ (leader) nor ‘niti’ (policy) and ideology. It has aligned with the Left in West Bengal but is grappling with it in Kerala. It attacks a party in one state but embraces it in another state,” Modi said at a rally at Karimganj in poll-bound Assam’s Barak Valley.

    “The Congress has become so weak that it can go to any level and join hands with anyone. The entire country is watching it,” the PM said.

    He continued, “The Congress has aligned with a party whose politics its (Congress’) workers have been fighting against for decades. Betraying people for the sake of votes is in its character.”

    ALSO READ | BJP plays Ajmal card in Assam, warns public not to let him reach doorsteps of power

    His attack was directed at the minority-based All India United Democratic Front, which is a component of a Congress-led and ten-party grand alliance of Opposition. It was formed to avoid the split of votes and thus, oust the BJP from power.

    Stating that the Congress’ confusion is in every direction, the PM asked the voters how a party that lacks stable thinking would give Assam a stable government.

    He said the Congress’ alleged indulgence in corruption, its vote-bank politics, and faulty policies disconnected Assam from the rest of the country and damaged it socially, culturally, geographically, and politically.

    He asserted that the BJP-led Central government was making the Northeast the country’s development hub with Assam as the main stakeholder. He said the Central and state governments would together make Assam an Atmanirbhar state.

    The PM said the Barak Valley was once rich in tea and petroleum products but the Congress destroyed the resources. Karimganj, Cachar, and Hailakandi districts make up the Bengali-majority valley.

  • Congress slams Yogi Adityanath for ‘distorting’ history of Srimanta Sankardeva

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Congress slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his statement that Assam’s medieval saint-reformer Srimanta Sankardeva had alerted people to the problem of illegal immigration.

    “It is a matter of happiness for us that it is also the land of Sankardeva. He was one of the leading luminaries of India’s cultural nationalism. This land was saved because of him. If Congress had succeeded with its diplomacy and politics of appeasement, this land would have created a problem for India like how the infiltrators posed a threat to national security…

    “Sankaradeva alerted people to the problem of illegal immigration. That’s why Congress has never tolerated him. Congress’s policy has never been development, progress, or your welfare but appeasement to capture power. The people of Assam have paid a price for it for a long time,” Adityanath said addressing a crowd at a rally at Hojai in Assam’s Nagaon district on Wednesday.

    The Congress slammed him for his “ignorance”.

    “This proves how much they know about the culture they claim they are going to protect. While Yogi ji talks about the much-revered 15th century saint fighting against infiltrators, he should know exactly what Srimanta Sankardeva fought against,” Bobbeeta Sharma, who is the chairperson of Pradesh Congress Committee’s media department, said.

    ALSO READ | BJP plays Ajmal card in Assam, warns public not to let him reach doorsteps of power

    She said Sankardeva was against the exploitation of people by those who followed the ideologies and dogmas laid down by Manusmriti and also idol worship. He believed in the assimilation of society and was against the caste system, she said.

    “Yogi needs lessons in history as does the PM (Narendra Modi) who said Lachit Barphukan was a freedom fighter. Lachit Barphukan was an Ahom general who fought the famous battle of Saraighat in 1671. The BJP keeps talking about Srimanta Sankardeva and Bir Lachit Barphukan at the drop of a hat, yet they do not know who they were or what they stood for. The APCC would like to gift some history books to Sri Modi and Sri Adityanath ji,” the Congress leader said.

    She added: “The BJP just talks in the air and thinks that the people of Assam do not notice anything. They are trying to impose Nagpur culture on the Assamese people and the people of Assam know very well how Nagpur culture can engulf and destroy Assamese culture.”

    A polymath, poet, playwright, socio-religious reformer, Sankardeva is credited with devising new forms of music, theatrical performance, dance (Sattriya), literary language (Brajavali), etc.

    Recently, Modi referred to the 17th century Ahom general Lachit Borphukan, who had fought the Mughals in the Battle of Saraighat, as a “freedom fighter” at a function to launch the “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”.

  • Assam polls: Allies BJP, UPPL to go for friendly fight in 3 seats

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The BJP’s new-found ally United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) will contest in 11 seats in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) in the upcoming Assam elections.

    The BTR has 12 constituencies in four districts such as Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, and Udalguri which are administered by the autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

    The BJP and the UPPL will have friendly contests in three seats such as Bijni, Kalaigaon and Majbat. The UPPL is not contesting from the Panery seat where the BJP has fielded Rajya Sabha member Biswajit Daimary.

    The UPPL, which is headed by former student leader and the incumbent Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the BTC Pramod Bodo, announced the names of eight candidates on Tuesday. Earlier, it announced the names of three candidates.

    Urkhao Gwra Brahma — a former MP, social worker and poet who is a recipient of the Sahitya Academy Award — has been fielded from the Chapaguri seat.

    ALSO READ | Shah slams Congress’ talks of secularism with AIDUF barb in Assam

    The other candidates of the party are Somnath Narzary (Gossaigaon), Lawrence Islari (Kokrajhar East), Manaranjan Brahma (Kokrajhar West), Jayanta Basumatary (Sidli), Phanin Boro (Bijni), Leho Ram Boro (Tamulpur), Bhupen Boro (Barama), Ratendra Daimary (Majbat), Kamal Azad (Kalaigaon) and Gabinda Chandra Basumatary (Udalguri).

    Gabinda Chandra Basumatary, a rebel leader-turned-politician is the Deputy CEM of the BTC.

    In the 2016 elections, the BJP’s now-estranged ally Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) had won all the 12 seats in the BTR. Ditched by the BJP, the BPF has since joined the Congress-led grand alliance of Opposition. The ten-party alliance was formed with the sole aim of ousting the BJP from power.

    The BPF had ruled the BTC for 17 years since its creation in 2003 as a political solution to the Bodo agitation for a separate state. In the BTC elections held in December last year, the BJP-UPPL combine had defeated the BPF and grabbed power.

    The BPF had emerged as the single largest party by winning 17 of the BTC’s 40 seats but could not cobble up the numbers to retain power.

  • Assam polls: Shivraj slams Rahul, says ‘this Gandhi is walking on Jinnah’s path’

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by accusing him of following in the footsteps of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and not Mahatma Gandhi.

    “This Congress is not walking the path of (Mahatma) Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi is not walking the path of Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi is walking the path of Jinnah,” Chouhan said at a rally in Assam’s Naharkatia, which will go to the first of three-phase elections on March 27.

    His diatribe stemmed from the Congress’s poll alignment with minority-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in Assam, Indian Union Muslim League in Kerala, and Indian Secular Front, floated recently by a cleric of Furfura Sharif in West Bengal.

    “The Jinnah path will neither be accepted by the people of Assam nor the countrymen,” Chouhan said.

    ALSO READ | Former Bodo militants return to jungle, urge people to drive BJP out of Assam

    He was livid that the Congress forged an electoral truck with the AIUDF, which is seen by many in Assam as the alleged protector of illegal immigrants. It was floated in 2005 after the Supreme Court, based on a petition, had struck down the Illegal Migrants’ (Determination Tribunal) Act which was allegedly heavily tilted in favour of illegal immigrants. The petition was filed by then Asom Gana Parishad MP and now BJP leader and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

    “Doesn’t the Congress feel ashamed of joining hands with the AIUDF, which has filled Assam with infiltration? I want to ask if you will honour Ajmal and show disrespect to (former CM) Tarun Gogoi. Rahul Gandhi, give an answer. Why did you forge an alliance with the AIUDF? You tied up with the Indian Union Muslim League in Kerala and the Furfura Sharif in Bengal. What happened to the Congress? The Congress is going to destroy the country,” Chouhan said.

    He scoffed at Rahul over his promise of setting up a fisheries ministry, stating that it is already in place and “his (Rahul’s) tube light lit a little late.”

    Chouhan accused Ajmal, who is a Lok Sabha member and perfume baron, of spreading poison in the society. He said Gogoi had never compromised with Ajmal and his AIUDF.

    “The Congress has ruled Assam for 55 years but what has it given to the state? The Mughals could not defeat Assam due to the heroics of (Ahom general) Lachit Borphukan. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi gave only infiltration, violence, agitation and unemployment,” Chouhan alleged.

    Also alleging that the Congress has always used the illegal immigrants as its vote bank, the Madhya Pradesh CM predicted that the grand old party would become history under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

  • Assam polls: Congress takes CAA, NRC to people via ‘Bhaona’ narrative

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Congress in Assam on Monday released its first “video advertisement” to shed light on the “draconian duo” of Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

    The video advertisement, aired across social media platforms, was trending with more than one million views, the party claimed.

    It is showcased with the music and language of ‘Bhaona’, a Vaishnavite form of spiritual drama popularised by the medieval saint-reformer Srimanta Sankardeva and several of his disciples.

    It affirms with the conviction that the Congress will give courage to the people to raise their voice and provide relief to the grassroots sections by nullifying the “anti-people” CAA. The song visually iterates that the Congress will defeat all evil and communal forces.

    Nullifying CAA is among the Congress’s five guarantees, announced by party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra recently.

    The CAA, which seeks to protect the non-Muslim immigrants who entered India till December 31, 2014, is in conflict with the Assam Accord.

    The Accord, signed in 1985 by the Rajiv Gandhi government at the end of six-year-long bloody Assam Agitation, says the immigrants, irrespective of faith, who entered Assam after March 24 (midnight), 1971 are to be detected and deported. The NRC of 1951 was also updated in the state based on this cut-off date.

    Two political parties – Asom Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal – were floated last year by the students and activists against the backdrop of a violent agitation against CAA. Both parties are contesting this election.