News Analysis India

Tag: CAA

  • INTERVIEW | BJP is suppressing our diversity, making us vassals of Nagpur: Gogoi  

    Express News Service
    One of the main election planks of the Bharatiya Janata Party is development, what about the Congress?

    I don’t hear the BJP talking about development, instead we are doing that. In our manifesto we have talked about what we will do for all sectors. We have announced that we will set up a fund for the poorest of the poor.

    We have also recognised that a woman’s household work is of value so for householders we have announced a financial aid of Rs 2,000 per month.

    Our campaign is around five guarantees which focuses on jobs, relief from inflation and tea garden workers who were promised the sky but got nothing. Other than development we are also talking about the identity of the Assamese culture. We have Muslims and several tribes.

    The Congress government gave the tribals development councils which helped them assert their unique cultural identity.

    But this government is trying to homogenise Assam and reduce the diversity into one form of philosophy that emanates from Nagpur. So while we want to celebrate our diversity, they want to reduce us to vassals of Nagpur.

    How do you propose to protect the Assamese identity?

    The dominating discourse in this election is the Citizenship Amendment Act. The Assam Accord has been made redundant by the CAA. The accord is an article of faith for the people because it resolved the burning issue of illegal immigration. Now the BJP is imposing its will, it is choking the cultural and democratic aspirations of the people through the CAA.

    But the BJP says the fears over the CAA are unfounded as all those who had to enter Assam are already here, more people will not come into Assam.

    We are a democracy where the will of the people is supreme and the people of Assam never wanted the CAA. Why is the government not listening to the people? The government has to abide by the wishes of the people but they want to impose their own ideology and their own arguments using brute force and political majority. This is not democracy but dictatorship.

    There is a view that the Congress alliance with the All-India United Democratic Front has not gone down well with the local Assamese, who are opposed to illegal immigration.

    There are prominent voices here calling for unity among all political parties to oppose the CAA. My late father was a proponent of this alliance. It has not happened just a few months before the elections. Last year the Congress and the AIUDF came together and sent leading journalist Ajit Bhuyan, a prominent voice against the CAA, to the Rajya Sabha. His candidature was welcomed by the people. This larger alliance which has the Left parties, the Bodo People’s Front and some smaller parties has the blessings of the people.

    The 2016 assembly election vote share shows the Congress-AIUDF alliance stands to benefit from consolidation of votes in only 14 seats. Is that a worry?

    You have only added the vote share of the Congress and the AIUDF, you have not added the vote share of the CPI-M or the BPF. The BJP president, Ranjit Kumar Dass, has had to change his seat because of the alliance. In this constituency the alliance candidate is not from the Congress or the AIUDF but a CPM candidate. Dass is unsure of winning his own seat. It shows how shaky and unsure the BJP is. So we cannot reduce the mahajot to just two parties, there are other parties with their own vote share and presence.

    Is the Congress united? The state president, Ripun Bora, recently said if the Congress comes to power he should be the chief minister so there seems to be a tussle already.

    All of us are united, none of us are here for our personal ambitions, we are here for the five guarantees that we have promised. If there is any division it is in the BJP where there are two camps. One camp seems to be favoured by the Prime Minister and other camp seems to have the favour of the union home minister. Many supporters of the chief minister have been denied tickets so clearly there are two leaders in the BJP.

    How confident are you, surveys show the mahajot will fall short.

    We are very confident, the response to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi’s meetings have been electrifying. They are engaging in personal, one-to-one meetings. Rahul met college students in a small town, Priyanka visited the home of a tea garden worker. When such interactions are captured on social media instead of large rallies they have a positive impact.

    Was it a conscious decision to not have large rallies?

    We had a large rally in Sivasagar and we will have more. Let us call it the rally plus model where we also engage in meaningful conversations through personal meetings. Has Prime Minister Modi spent time with the tea garden workers? Has the PM gone to a college in Assam and fielded unscripted questions? He has not, but Rahul has. So through social media the people have seen the difference between our leaders and theirs. 

  • Gadkari takes on Congress for its guarantee to nullify CAA in Assam if voted to power

    By PTI
    DHARAMPUR/GOLAKGANJ/GUWAHATI: Senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari Friday lashed out at the Congress for its “guarantee” to the people of Assam of bringing in a legislation in the state assembly to nullify the Citizenship (Amendment) Act if voted to power in the state.

    The union road transport minister said Congress is engaged in opportunistic vote bank politics and has compromised the country’s security by its minority appeasement.

    Without taking any name, he said some people and some party have supported infiltration in Assam and tried to give the infiltrators voting rights, which is not beneficial for the country.

    BJP’s political agenda on the other hand is development, unity and security of the country and the party is fully committed to it, he said addressing poll rallies at Dharmapur and Golakganj and at a press conference here.

    “The CAA is a central law. No one can change it in an Assembly. Rahul Gandhi does not know that or what?” he said.

    Gadkari’s comment follows the one by BJP national president J P Nadda, who while releasing the party’s Assam poll manifesto earlier this week had said CAA had been passed by Parliament and would be implemented in the country.

    It had trigerred state-wide protests by political parties and the All Assam Students Union, which had been in the forefront of the 2019 agitation against CAA.

    Congress in its “Five guarantees” to Assam promised that would nullify CAA in Assam by bringing in a legislation in the state assembly, besides providing five lakh government jobs to youths in five years, 200 units of free electricity for every household, increasing the daily wages of the tea garden workers to Rs 365 and Rs 2000 per month to homemakers if voted to power.

    Gadkari said, “This is a very important election. It is not to decide the future of Congress, but to decide the future of Assam. The BJP government did more work in the state in five years than what Congress did in 50 years.”

    “The difference between BJP and Congress is that the opposition party does opportunistic vote bank politics and has surrendered the country’s security for the sake of its appeasement politics. To appease the minorities, Congress is playing with the nation’s security,” Gadkari said.

    The union minister listed a host of projects that his ministry has implemented in the state and the north east.

    He said Assam will be one of the top states in India if BJP returns to power in the state.

    “During our tenure, road work of 30,000 crore have been completed in Assam. Sanctions for another Rs 50,000 crore for roads have been given. At present, work for Rs 35,000 crore is on. Assam will have completed roads of Rs two lakh crore in the next five years,” he added.

    Besides, the Centre has approved Rs 1,300 crore bamboo mission and other industries like an ethanol plant for the state.

    He said the northeast region will be developed as a manufacturing hub for incense sticks made of bamboo, besides creating waterways to connect the region with South East Asia.

    The government is at present developing a Rs 1,200 crore multi-modal logistic park spread across 317 acres at Jogighopa, which will create huge job opportunities.

    “What chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and (Assam minister Chandra Mohan) Patowary did for Assam in the last five years it was just a trailer. The actual film is yet to start,” he added.

  • High-pitched campign for first phase poll in Assam ends

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: The high-pitched campaign for the first phase of poll in Assam in 47 assembly constituencies slated for March 27 came to an end on Thursday evening.

    The poll on Saturday will decide the fate of 264 candidates.

    Implementation of the Citizenship Amednment Act, 2019 was the central issue in the state, which was rocked by violence and protests against it, but BJP, which had steered the central legislation in Parliament maintained a studied silence on it.

    The issue did not find place in the campaigning by the party nor in its manifesto.

    However, party president J P Nadda’s comment that it is an act of Parliament and will be implemented saw protests across the state by political parties students union AASU.

    The Congress on the other hand assured that if voted to power, it will bring a legislation in the assembly so that the act is not implemented in Assam.

    The hectic campaigning for the first phase was marked by poll meetings by several national leaders of the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, who criss crossed the state to garner support for their respective parties.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi had led the campaign brigade for BJP and its alliance partner, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).

    The other BJP leaders who wooed the voters in Assam were BJP President J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar, who is also partys state in-charge.

    The others leaders from outside to hold campaign rallies were Textile and Handloom Minister Smriti Iraniand chief ministers Yogi Adityanath and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

    Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP state unit President Ranjeet Kumar Dass and North East Democratic Alliance convenor and state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma campaigned in the constituencies which are spread across upper and central Assam.

    The highlight of the opposition Congress campaign was the visit of its top leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the tea belt, besides Chhatisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is in charge of the partys campaign in Assam.

    Other leaders who campaigned for Congress included former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and Gaurav Gogoi, the chairman of the mannifesto committee.

    The BJP in its vampign spoke against the alliance between Congress and ther saying it would lead to increase in infiltration, a critical issu in the state.

    The increased infiltration will lead to threats to the land, language, identity and culture of the state’s indigenous population, it insisted.

    The Congress in its campaign presented its Five guarantees’.

    These are five lakh government jobs to youths in five years, 200 units of free electricity for every household, increasing the daily wages of the tea garden workers to Rs 365 and Rs 2000 per month to homemakers, besides the legislation against the implementation of the CAA.

    The newly floated political parties Assam Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal relied mostly on door-to-door campaigns and street corner meetings.

    With ‘Rongali Bihu’, the popular spring festival of the Assamese about a fortnight away, supporters of the political parties were seen dancing the ‘jhumur’, the folk dance of the tea tribes or swaying to their election songs which have become particularly popular among the voters.

    Prominent among those whose fates will be decided in the first phase are Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami, ministers Atul Bora, Keshab Mahanta, Ranjit Dutta, Naba Kumar Doley, Sanjoy Kishan and Nazir Hussain.

    The others are Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Ripun Bora, Congress Legislature Party leader Debabrata Saikia, AICC secretary Bhupen Borah and former ministers of the party Bharat Narah, Pranatee Phukan and Rakibul Hussain.

    The fates of jailed Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi and Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi along with his party general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan will also be decided in the first phase.

    BJP is contesting in 39 of the 47 seats while its alliance partner the AGP in 10, including two where it is in friendly contest against the saffron party.

    The Congress is contesting in 43 seats and its allies AIUDF, RJD, Anchalik Gana Morcha (as independent) and CPI-ML in one seat each.

    Assam Jatiya Parishad is contesting in 41 seats while the Raijor Dal is contesting in 19 seats as independents.

    A total of 78 independents are in the fray in the first phase.

    There are 23 women candidates in the fray in the first phase, Election Commission sources said.

  • Foreigners covered under CAA can submit application for citizenship after appropriate rules notified: Govt

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Tuesday said that the foreigners covered under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) may submit applications for grant of Indian citizenship after appropriate rules are notified by the Central Government.

    “The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) has been notified on December 12, 2019, and has come into force from January 10, 2020. The foreigners covered under this Amendment Act may submit applications for grant of Indian citizenship after appropriate rules are notified by the Central Government,” said Nityanand Rai replying to Congress MP VK Sreekandan’s question whether the process of granting Indian citizenship to refugees under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will begin once the process of COVID-19 vaccination ends.

    ALSO READ: BJP releases Bengal poll manifesto, promises CAA, 33% reservation for women

    MoS Home further added that the Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have granted time up to April 9, 2021, and July 9, 2021, respectively to frame these rules.

    The CAA was passed by the parliament in December 2019. The law grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and came to India before 2015.

    The NRC for Assam is a record maintained by the Central Government for the people of Assam. It contains names and certain relevant information for the identification of citizens in the state. Currently, the register exists only for Assam. However, on November 20, 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah declared during a parliamentary session that the register would be extended to the entire country soon. The register was first prepared after the 1951 Census of India.

  • Don’t states have right to express opinion, SC asks NGO on plea to quash CAA, agri laws resolutions

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday sought to know from a petitioner-NGO whether the state legislatures have the right to express their opinion or not on central laws and asked it to do some more research on the subject.

    The top court was hearing a PIL filed by an NGO challenging legislative competence of different State Assemblies in passing resolutions against central laws like Citizenship Amendments Act (CAA) and the three farm laws saying it falls under the Union List of the Seventh Schedule.

    The NGO has made the Centre and the Speakers of the Legislative Assemblies of Punjab, Rajasthan, Kerala and West Bengal party in the petition, saying the apex court is already seized of multiple petitions challenging these laws passed by Parliament.

    A bench of Chief Justice Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian adjourned the hearing on the PIL after four weeks while observing “we don’t want to create more problems than resolving the issue. We will see”.

    During the hearing, senior advocate Soumya Chakraborty, appearing for NGO ‘Samata Andolan Samiti’, said that the state Assemblies are incompetent to pass such resolutions against the central legislations.

    The bench asked the counsel to show the resolutions he was objecting to.

    Chakraborty referred to the Kerala Assembly resolution passed against the CAA and said that it was invalid.

    Referring to CAA law and the Kerala Assembly resolution, Chakraborty said that the state legislature said that central law was against the basic structure of the Constitution as it did not grant citizenship to Muslims and gave it only to Hindus, Jains, Christians and Sikhs.

    The bench observed, “This is the opinion of majority of Kerala Assembly and this may not have the force of law. This is just an opinion. They have simply requested the Centre and sought repeal of the law. Do they have no right to express their opinion? They have not asked the people to disobey the Central law”.

    It asked the petitioner, “How can you say that Assembly does not have the right to express their opinion”.

    Chakraborty said that the top court is seized of over 60 writ petitions against the CAA and it was the duty of the assembly Speaker not to allow discussions on such resolutions pending adjudication of the issue.

    “There were 60 writ petitions pending as on the date when such a resolution was passed by the Kerala Assembly. Law states resolution cannot be on issue which us pending adjudication. It was pending before your lordships,” he said.

    Chakraborty referred to rule 119 of the Kerala Assembly rules which he said does not permit such resolutions to be presented for the discussion in the house, which are pending adjudication by the court of law.

    The bench said, “We want to know whether this rule of the Assembly has been discussed earlier or not. Show us the case laws if any. Has this rule of legislature never been interpreted before?” Chakraborty said that it has not been interpreted.

    The bench said that there must be some precedent on the issue and asked the counsel to check up and do some research saying, “We don’t want to create more problems than resolving the issue. We will see”.

    It has sought direction to declare that state legislative assemblies/councils have no jurisdiction to discuss and/or debate and make any resolution against any statute concerning any matter enumerated in List I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution which has been passed by both the Houses of the Parliament and having received the presidential assent.

    “Consequently, in as much as the Legislative Assemblies/Councils of States of Punjab, Rajasthan, Kerala and West Bengal have adopted resolutions against and adversely criticizing the due enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 followed up by another resolution passed by the West Bengal, legislative assembly against three recently passed central statutes (farm laws)”, the plea said.

    It sought direction to the speakers of these assemblies for “transmitting the records of and/or relating to purported adoption of the said resolutions so that conscionable justice may be done by quashing the same”.

    The plea referred to different rules of procedure and conduct of business adopted by the legislative assemblies which said that such resolution shall not be admissible which relate to any matter pending adjudication by a Court of law.

    While referring to the resolutions passed by these legislative assemblies against CAA and farm laws, the plea said, “The acts, conducts, omissions and commissions on the part of the said State Legislatures being far from prudent and responsible were intended to incite unrest and disaffection among the citizens of the said states and beyond”.

    It sought a direction “prohibiting all the state legislatures of India to discuss/debate/ adopt adverse resolutions never in regard to the subject matter of central legislations falling under the Union List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution in any manner whatsoever”.

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

    By PTI
    LAHOWAL/CHABUA/DOOMDANA: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday assuring the carrying out of its ‘5 guarantees’ said that the CAA will not be implemented and daily wages of tea workers in Assam will be hiked to Rs 365 within six hours of the party being voted to power in the state.

    Gandhi gave the assurances to people from all walks of life – college students, tea workers and at a poll rally on the first day of his visit to the poll-bound state for campaigning.

    Congress will ensure in Assam assembly that the Citizenship Ammendment Act is not implemented in the state.

    “In the other states we will stop it (CAA) after we come to power at the national level,” he told students of Lahowal College in Dibrugarh district, tea garden workers in Chabua and at a poll rally in Doomdooma.

    Assam had witnessed violent agitations in December 2019 when the Act was passed.

    ALSO READ | Assam polls: BJP spreads hatred wherever it goes, says Rahul Gandhi

    “We will increase the daily wages of tea workers to Rs 365 from the existing Rs 167 within six hours of coming to power,” Gandhi said in an interaction with workers at Dinjoy Tea Estate at Chabua and also at a subsequent election rally.

    “Mera naam Narendra Modi nahi hain aur main jhoot nahi bolta (My name is not Narendra Modi and I don’t tell lies).

    Let anybody say what they want but I guarantee that you will get Rs 365 as soon as the government is formed.

    “I understand that tea garden owners might find this difficult, but let me assure them that this will be done with the help of the government,” the Congress leader said.

    Gandhi had lunch with the tea workers in Dinjoy tea estate.

    He also visited the manager’s bungalow where his great grandfather, the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had spent a night in 1936 with his classmate and the then tea garden manager, a Mr Hill.

    Asked by the college students about BJP mixing religion and politics, he said that the saffron party does not use religion but hatred to create divisions among different sections of society.

    “No religion has asked to use hatred. Where is it written in Hinduism that there should be ‘nafrat’ (hatred)? It is BJP that spreads hatred to divide the society and wherever they do that Congress goes there to promote love, brotherhood and harmony,” he said.

    In an apparent reference to the RSS, the Congress leader said that there is one force in Nagpur that is trying to control the entire country but the youths should resist it with love and confidence as they are the future of democracy.

    “The BJP wants to control Assam from Nagpur. But a Congress chief minister will listen to the people of the state and not to anybody from outside,” he said.

    Twenty years ago Assam was hit by violence but after Congress came to power it ensured peace and development.

    “BJP ka kaam hai todna, hamaara kaam hain jodna (BJP’s work is to divide but our job is to unite people),” he said.

    Stating that there is a direct relation between hatred and unemployment, the Congress leader said “If hatred increases unemployment will increase and vice versa.

    Can two sections fighting against each other do business together? For business and employment oppurtunities to thrive there should be harmony and brotherhood”.

    Gandhi said the ensuing elections in the state is not any “ordinary election”.

    BJP has attacked the culture, history and language of Assam as according to it there should be only one thought, one language, one culture.

    “But our country is diverse and the Congress will protect all”.

    He also accused BJP of selling off Assam’s resources to outsiders like the Guwahati airport to the Adanis and the tea companies.

    The Congress leader alleged that at present the country has a “Hum do, Hamare do ka Sarkar’ (a government of two persons with two others) – one in the Parliament (apparently Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah) and two outside (Adani and Ambani likely).

    “Assam’s resources and wealth must go into the pockets of the Assamese. The state must be managed in the interest of the people here,” he said.

    The Congress government, he said, had laid the foundation for future growth, employment and development by initiating several schemes, including the MGNREGA and Food Security.

    “Can you name the schemes started by the BJP? We had promised in Chattisgarh to waive off farm loans and we did it. We have a record of not making promises in the air. We give guarantees”, he asserted.

    The Congress has given 5 guarantees in Assam and they include five lakh government jobs in five years to youths, up to 200 units of free electricity per household and Rs 2000 per month to housewives other than those mentioned by him, Gandhi said.

    Asked by the students about rising unemployment, Gandhi said that the priority of the Congress government will be to first fill up the vacant posts and focus on particular sectors like health and education for the creation of new jobs in these areas.

    “Modi talks about entrepreneurship. but how many businesses have opened in India in the last six years and how many youths have got jobs?” he asked.

    When a student questioned him about privatisation of education, Gandhi said that this is a “big problem” created by BJP.

    “Education should not be commercialised as it is a fundamental right and we (Cong) are against this. There are certain places for privatisation but not in education and health where public sector has a role. We are fighting against the BJP on this”, he said.

    Gandhi alleged that the biggest sale is taking place in the agricultural sector and its privatisation is being done through the farm laws.

    To another question on why protesting students are being sent to jail, Gandhi said “The rulers are scared of the confidence of the youth. They are scared that if more become confident they cannot control. So the youth are sent to jail”.

    When another student pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not visit Assam during floods but only during elections, the Congress leader quipped, “What can you give him during floods? So why will he visit you? But now you can give him votes, so he is visiting you.

    “You can ensure that he does not come at all and stays at home by your vote. You have to save India’s democracy as you are the future of democracy. More youths should enter politics and actively participate in fighting against the wrongs”, he added.

    Gandhi is on a two-day visit to the poll-bound north eastern state from Friday.

    He will campaign in upper Assam and release the party’s manifesto in Guwahati on Saturday, Congress sources said.

  • 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. 

  • CAA not election issue in Assam; people will vote logically, not emotionally: BJP

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam BJP chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass on Sunday claimed that the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act is not an issue in the upcoming assembly elections in the state as people will vote logically, not emotionally.

    In an interview with PTI, the senior ruling party leader said that people are convinced that not a single foreigner can illegally settle in Assam as long as the BJP is in power in the state.

    “There will be no impact (of CAA) on elections and the people of Assam have earlier shown that. When the citizenship issue was at its peak, we had participated in the panchayat polls, asking people to question us if any foreigner enters Assam. We bagged the highest number of seats in that election,” he said.

    The former Assembly speaker said that the CAA issue had cropped up even during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but the BJP succeeded in increasing its tally from seven to nine seats.

    “We swept the Tiwa autonomous council polls, while the Congress scored a duck. The Congress also did not win any seat in the Bodoland Territorial Region elections. The CAA will not be an issue in the assembly elections also as people will vote logically, not emotionally,” Dass said.

    The two-time sitting MLA from Sarbhog constituency said that the party workers have gone to every booth and asked people whether any foreigner has come to their area after the enactment of the CAA.

    “It was claimed that 1.5 crore immigrants will come to the state but not a single person has arrived yet. We had asserted that no foreigner can enter Assam as long as the BJP is in power in the state. People are convinced by our promise.”

    “How can foreigners come and settle in Assam when we have such tight security arrangements?” Dass said.

    The opposition Congress, however, is aggressively raising the CAA issue in its poll campaign, promising to nullify the law if the Grand Alliance led by it comes to power in the state.

    The grand old party has announced that it will build a martyrs’ memorial in Guwahati for the five anti-CAA protesters who were killed in police firing in 2019.

    It also launched a door-to-door campaign to collect 1 lakh ‘gamocha’ (Assamese scarf) with anti-CAA messages written on them to adorn the memorial.

    Two newly floated parties Raijor Dal and Assam Jatiya Parishad, in their election campaign, are also raking up the issue of CAA, which seeks to grant citizenship to Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

    Despite the opposition’s concerted effort to build a public opinion based on CAA, Dass exuded confidence that the BJP-led NDA will win over 100 seats in the 126-member assembly.

    “We are working with a 100-plus target,” he said.

    The BJP is contesting the assembly elections in an alliance with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), who are part of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the regional arm of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

    The Congress, which was in power in Assam for 15 years since 2001, has formed a ‘Grand Alliance’ with AIUDF, BPF, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM), RJD and Jimochayan (Deori) Peoples’ Party (JPP) to fight the elections against the BJP-led NDA.

    Elections will be held in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6.

    Results will be declared on May 2.

    The 2016 elections in Assam gave a fractured mandate as no party got an absolute majority.

    The BJP had emerged as the single-largest party with 60 MLAs, while its allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) had won 14 and 12 seats respectively.

    The ruling coalition also had the support of an Independent MLA.

    The Congress had won 26 seats, while the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) bagged 13 constituencies.

  • Assam polls 2021: Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal releases fourth list of candidates

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: The Raijor Dal led by jailed anti-CAA activist Akhil Gogoi on Sunday released its fourth list of candidates containing four names for the third phase of polling in Assam on April 6.

    The list contains the names of Nilimoy Pradhani (Golakganj), Ali Akbar Miya (Bilasipara West), Anil Boro (Palasbari) and Dhananjoy Kalita (Guwahati West).

    The party also replaced the Dalgaon constituency candidate Omar Ali and instead gave ticket to Arab Ali to contest the polls from the same seat.

    The Raijor Dal has nominated a total of 32 candidates to contest in the elections for the 126-member Assam Assembly, being held in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6.

  • Assam polls: Congress releases 12-point ‘chargesheet’ against BJP

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Congress on Sunday came out with a 12-point “chargesheet” against Assam’s BJP-led government for its alleged failure on different fronts.

    The Congress said before coming to power, BJP had promised to protect “jati” (community), “mati” (land) “bheti” (foundation) but instead imposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on the people.

    The CAA is posing a threat to the language, culture and identity of the people of Assam. It is giving a red carpet welcome to illegal migrants to settle in the state. The saffron brigade has failed to implement the Assam Accord in letter and spirit, the Congress alleged.

    The party slammed the BJP for “stalling” the process of National Register of Citizens. It said as the process has been stalled, it was affecting the genuine citizens left out of the register.

    “Before the 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP had promised to provide employment to 5 lakh unemployed every year. Like other promises, the BJP failed to deliver on this promise too. There are around 3 lakh posts lying vacant in different departments and the number of unemployed in the state has reached 40 lakh,” Congress said.

    The party highlighted some recruitment scams. In the Assam Police sub-inspector recruitment scam, senior serving and retired police officers were arrested. The rot has set in deep during the BJP’s tenure, the Congress alleged.

    “The BJP has been selling our prized resources, from oil fields to the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport to corporate houses that are close to the Modi regime,” the party said.

    The Congress claimed there has been a mushrooming of syndicates – from essentials like fruits, vegetables, fish and eggs to coal and cattle. It also pilloried the BJP on the issues of price rise and plight of tea workers.

    “The BJP government has failed to increase the daily wage of tea workers despite a promise to raise it to Rs 351. The jugglery used by the Sarbananda Sonowal government to increase Rs 50 for the interim period has failed, with tea companies taking the government to court for not adhering to regulations. The promise to provide Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to over one hundred sub-tribes of the Adivasi tea community was also not kept by the BJP,” the Congress said.

    It alleged the BJP backtracked on the promise of providing ST status to six tribes and failed to solve the flood and erosion problem or declare it a national problem, despite promises made from time to time.

    “PM Modi had said here in 2014 that after May 16, all Bangladeshis will have to leave bag and baggage. The BJP had also stated that there were 50 lakh Bangladeshis in Assam. That this was a false statement is made apparent by the figures of the Home Ministry, according to which, 989 people in 2014, 474 in 2015, 308 in 2016 and 51 persons in 2017 were expelled as Bangladeshis. The number has further dwindled to 50 Bangladeshis pushed out of the country in 2018 and 2019. The numbers prove how many illegal migrants the Modi government has actually deported,” the Congress said.

    The last point of the chargesheet was on the BJP’s Vision Document that promised the state’s farmers a minimum support price for paddy.

    “But only 1% of the total paddy produced was procured at that price. Farmers will soon have to protest on the roads for not getting proper prices. The Farm Acts passed by the BJP has farmers across the country protesting against the unfair legislations,” the Congress said.