New Delhi, June 21 (Representative) Leader of Opposition in Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia on Tuesday accused the BJP-led government in the state of “polarisation”, creating issues to divert attention from “misrule”, and said “you can fool people for a sometime, but not all the time” as he expressed confidence that Congress will succeed given its work at grass-root level.”Some issues are knowingly created by the ruling BJP with the motive to divert attention of the people from its ‘misrule’ and ‘polarise’ the votes. This is a part of his (CM Himanta Biswa Sarma ) and BJP’s agenda. We are fighting against it,” Saikia told UNI in an exclusive interview as he recalled the ‘Madrasa’ statement of Sarma. Last month, Sarma had stoked a controversy after he said the word ‘madrasa’ should be extinct as, if it continued to remain in the mind of children, they cannot become engineers and doctors.Referring to the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021, which was brought by the ruling BJP, few months after it rode to power for the second consecutive term in the Northeastern state and later passed in the Assembly, the senior Congress leader said, “In the initial year, the government brought the cow protection bill though it was not necessary. We already had a law of 1950 in this regard.”The Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, is an act to provide for the preservation of cattle by regulating their slaughter, consumption and illegal transportation.
Accusing the BJP of failing on all fronts, Saikia said, “What happened to BJP’s ‘vision document’ 2016-2025 for Assam? Already six years have passed but they could not implement the major announcements made by them in the run up to the Assembly elections. The major issues of Assam are unemployment and poverty alleviation. “The government has ‘failed’ on all fronts.”You can fool people for a specific period of time, but not all the time,” he said, attacking the ruling dispensation.Mentioning about the current flood situation in Assam caused due to the incessant rainfall, Saikia, who penned a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday in this regard, claimed that the state has been deprived of central assistance in the past few years. “BJP and PM Narendra Modi always mention the benefit of ‘double engine ‘ government. Despite being in power at the Centre as well as in the state, the Modi government has not given any Central assistance till date. Other states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Odisha received assistance from the Centre,” the Congress lawmakerfrom the Nazira Assembly constituency said. Attacking the BJP, he added, “The BJP promised to declare Assam’s flood and erosion as a natural calamity.
I hope the party will keep its promise. The government should immediately release Rs 20,000 crore as special Central relief to alleviate the damages caused in the last 3-4 years by flood and erosion in Assam.”On the entry of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the state, Saikia said: “Some new entrants have come. I don’t think within a short time they won’t be able to make much impact (before 2024 general elections) and will not have an winning edge.”He said, “Only Congress can give a tough fight to the BJP and the party is working at the grass-root level in this regard. People were taken for a ride in 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2021. People will not go for false promises again in 2024.”Asked about former party president Rahul Gandhi’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the National Herald case, Saikia termed it as ‘political vendetta’.” The questioning of Rahul Gandhi is only an act of ‘political vendetta’. I hope the ‘sanctity’ of the Constitution will be upheld by the ruling party and it will not use ED, CBI and other agencies against political opponents to fulfill its ‘agenda’,” he said.On the new recruitment scheme for forces, Agnipath, the Assam LoP said,”It is like a contractual job without any future prospects. The government should reconsider it.”He also appealed to the youth protesting against the scheme, to not to damage public property and express their right in a democratic manner.