Assam Congress demands apology from CM for 'opposition MLAs should join ruling party' comment

DISPUR: Assam Congress leader Debabrata Saikia has flayed chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his comments on the "opposition" and demanding him to publicly apologize "for uttering such undemocratic words."

Sarma has been quoted as saying: “There is no work for of the opposition for 5 years. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be in Assam, so the opposition MLAs have no business and everyone should leave the position and join the ruling party.”

"The role of the Opposition is clearly stated in our Constitution and the Congress party has been playing the role of the Constructive Opposition in the past wherever required," Saikia said.

Saikia also claimed that the Congress party has been waging a relentless war against the BJP Party, which "seeks to destroy the democratic values of our country."

"The main role of the opposition is to criticize the government constructively and to protest against any act of the government against the public interest, to protect the rights and freedoms of the people, and to express the views of the people to the government. There are many examples of this work being done by the Congress party in Assam in the past," he pointed out.

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Saikia then went on to point out some of the BJP's alleged "problems" that the Congress is seeking to remedy by raising its voice.

"The BJP and the government of Assam have promised to control the flood by excavating the Brahmaputra sub-basin. It's been seven years since this promise was made, but nothing has been done [...] In the same way BJP mentioned in the Vision Document on three pages that it would implement the Assam Accord in letter and spirit. But even then “CAA” was introduced hurting the spirit of the Assam Accord,and we strongly protested. In 2019, the issue of microfinance in Assam was raised in the Legislative Assembly and now the government is saying that it will not completely waive the debt of microfinance. This is in spite of the Chief Ministers' repeated promise to the people of Assam that all loans would be waived in the Assembly," Saikia added.

"He also urged the CM to ensure that no eviction measures are taken without resttlement. The Chief Minister has recently said that all the landless people will be given shelter under the Prime Minister's Housing Scheme," he reminded Biswa Sarma.

"The present government wants to create such an environment, where no one will raise a finger against its misdeeds. This is possible if there is no opposition to the ruling party. And Congress will not allow it to happen," Saikia added.

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