Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 20 : Senior Congress leader and former MP Abdul Khaleque on Sunday alleged that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had completely failed to take the state forward at the expected pace over the past six months after receiving a second mandate, and claimed that the government was functioning by taking "one loan after another".
According to an official release from the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, he also alleged that the government had failed to fulfil the aspirations of the tribal communities.
Khaleque made the remarks while addressing an important press conference at Kshirod Bhawan, the office of the Morigaon District Congress Committee, in connection with the by-election to the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency.
At the press conference, Khaleque said that although he had visited Morigaon several times for party and other programmes, he had never had the opportunity to formally interact with journalists. He respectfully remembered the contributions of senior leaders such as late Kshirod Barua, late Jonjonali Barua, Nazrul Islam, late Kaliram Dekaraja and late Vivekananda Daloi, who had helped build a strong organisational base for the Congress in Morigaon district.
Khaleque alleged that the by-election had been imposed on the people. He said the people of the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency had elected Congress candidate Pradyut Bordoloi with a huge mandate, but Bordoloi betrayed the people's trust after allegedly falling prey to BJP's conspiracy or temptation. He took a jibe at Bordoloi, saying that the premature by-election had become necessary because of his decision to join the BJP in the hope of becoming a minister.
However, he pointed out that the Congress had won the constituency in the last two elections and expressed confidence that the Congress candidate would once again win by a huge margin with the support of the people.
Referring to an alleged incident involving Morigaon MLA Ramakanta Deuri, Khaleque said that despite Deuri being older than the Chief Minister, the Chief Minister allegedly pinched him on the cheek, which he described as extremely distasteful and insulting. Claiming that Deuri remained silent because several cases were pending against him and due to fear of the police, Khaleque said the incident was not merely an insult to an individual but a grave insult to the people of Morigaon, the Tiwa community and the tribal society as a whole.
He also alleged that the government had failed to provide justice to those who lost their lives during the agitation demanding an AIIMS in Raha and had betrayed the people of Raha by not establishing any medical college or institution there.
Khaleque alleged that although the Chief Minister often says that the BJP does not need the votes of “Miyas”, with the elections approaching, words such as “Inshallah”, “Mashallah” and “Subhanallah” are now frequently being heard from BJP candidate Debashish Sarma and Minister Pijush Hazarika.
Taking a jibe at the BJP, he alleged that the party had transferred IPS officer Bushra Banu in West Bengal immediately after she said “Assalamu Alaikum” at a public event, while in Assam it was engaging in such dramatic behaviour for electoral gains.
As per a release, Khaleque further alleged that BJP candidate Debashish Sarma was shedding “crocodile tears” for minorities, while during his tenure as a Deputy Commissioner, he had allegedly sent an Indian citizen woman to Bangladesh unlawfully under political patronage. He said the court had termed the decision unconstitutional and unjust and directed the government to pay compensation of Rs 2 lakh. He remarked that an officer who allegedly violated the Constitution on political instructions could never serve as a people's representative.
Launching a strong attack on Badruddin Ajmal and the AIUDF, Khaleque said that Ajmal had entered the electoral fray with the sole objective of helping the BJP and Debashish Sarma. “Everyone knows that the real high command of the AIUDF is Himanta Biswa Sarma,” he said.
He claimed that when a madrasa at Kawaitari in Bongaigaon was demolished by bulldozers, Ajmal visited the site and then went directly to the Chief Minister's official residence. According to Khaleque, the BJP and AIUDF complement each other, and both parties have adopted a strategy of helping one another for political gains.
He alleged that the BJP had been providing political oxygen to Humayun Kabir in West Bengal, Owaisi in Hyderabad and Ajmal in Assam.
Praising Congress candidate Shivamoni Bora, Khaleque said that as an MLA, she had consistently raised the problems and grievances of both majority and minority communities in the Assam Legislative Assembly. He said that if elected to the Lok Sabha, she would be able to strongly raise the issues of the people of Assam and Nagaon in Parliament.
He said that a Congress victory in the by-election would further strengthen the anti-BJP atmosphere that had emerged across the country. He also said that despite four districts of Assam being devastated by floods, neither the Prime Minister nor the Union Home Minister, who is responsible for disaster management, conducted an aerial survey, describing this as a grave deprivation of the people of Assam.
Claiming that most of the work of constructing barbed-wire fencing along the international border was carried out during Congress governments, Khaleque blamed Amit Shah and the BSF for failing to seal the open border.
Referring to the publication of lists of workers who travelled to Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh during the tenure of Tarun Gogoi as part of efforts to identify foreigners, he said that the Congress had always wanted the last foreigner to be deported, but no Indian citizen should be harassed in the name of identifying foreigners, a release said.
Responding to questions from journalists regarding opposition unity and Akhil Gogoi, Khaleque said that everyone should follow the principles of alliance politics. He said that there was no meaning to an alliance if its members continued attacking the Congress instead of fighting the BJP.
Although Akhil Gogoi claims to be opposed to both the BJP and AIUDF, Khaleque said that the by-election was an “acid test” for him. If Gogoi genuinely wanted to defeat both communal forces, Khaleque urged him to formally and openly extend support to the Congress while the electoral process is underway.
Swapn Dekaraja, State Secretary of Mahila Congress; Nahida Choudhury, Pradesh Congress Joint Secretary; Ruhul Amin Ahmed; and office-bearers and workers of the District Congress were present at the press conference held at the Morigaon District Congress office, a release added.