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AGP,
BJP pledge to root out Cong
Samudra Gupta
Kashyap
Guwahati,
April 27: Top leaders of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the
state BJP appeared together for the first time today since the alliance
was struck on April 9, and announced that the new combination would
not only root out the Congress but would also accelerate development
in Assam.
On its part,
the Congress, which released its manifesto today, said that the
BJP-led Government at the Centre had ‘‘cheated’’
the people of Assam while the ruling AGP had devastated the state
in the past five years. ‘‘There have been killings, murders,
explosions, rapes, and extortion all over the state, with total
chaos prevailing on all fronts. Corruption has become the order
of the day, and the development process has come to a grinding halt,’’
the manifesto went on to say.
AGP leaders,
including Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and party general
secretary B.P. Baishya, besides BJP state unit chief Rajen Gohain
and his deputy Ramen Deka, addressed a press conference at the AGP
head office today, where the two parties issued a joint statement
that spoke of the benefits the alliance would bring for Assam. ‘‘Together,
the parties will strive to remove all the major problems facing
the state,’’ the statement said.
It also held
the Congress responsible for as the party behind the problem of
illegal infiltration from Bangladesh, and said that this led to
all other major social and economic problems in Assam. ‘‘The
two parties will work jointly towards saving Assam from the serious
threat posed by the infiltration problem,’’ the joint
statement said.
Mahanta and
Gohain also promised that if the alliance was voted to power, it
would give priority to issuing identity cards to Indian citizens
in the state. ‘‘This will facilitate speedy identification
of Bangladeshi national illegally staying in the state,’’
the two leaders said.
The Congress
manifesto predictably opposes the AGP-BJP alliance’s demand
for scrapping the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals)
Act, 1983, and said the act should be retained to ensure the protection
of rights of the religious minorities. ‘‘The Congress
party has been opposed to any move to repeal the IMDT Act, and it
will do so in the future too to ensure that the Act remains,’’
the manifesto says.
As usual, the
Congress manifesto also had one lengthy chapter on the minorities,
running into 19 specific points, including more funds to the madrasa
schools and wakf boards, more quota for minorities in medical, engineering
and other colleges, and reservation of jobs for minority communities
in government service.
When asked
to react to the Congress allegation that the AGP-BJP alliance was
an unholy and opportunistic one, Mahanta said: ‘‘We do
not want certificates from a party like the Congress. It is known
to give fake certificates even to its own party members.’’
Mahanta, on the other hand, expressed hope that the new alliance
would secure a two-thirds majority. ‘‘We have the two
major tribal groups, the Bodos and Karbis too on our side,’’
the Chief Minister and AGP president pointed out.
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