Assam: Former CM Tarun Gogoi Calls Upon Sarbananda Sonowal to Oppose Citizenship Bill

Guwahati, October 15, 2019:

Three-time former Chief Minister of Assam and veteran Congress leader, Tarun Gogoi, on Tuesday, chastised the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its policies, such as implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill

Lacerating the Assam state government for its silence regarding the implementation of the highly controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, said, "The Assam administration has not opposed the Bill, and have, in fact, supported it openly. On the other hand, all the other Northeast Indian states have opposed it. Even Arunachal CM Pema Khandu has formed a committee to discuss the Bill."

Calling forth all stakeholders, including the students to oppose the Bill tooth-and-nail, Gogoi also appealed the current CM, Sonowal, to voice out against the Bill.

https://www.facebook.com/ne.inside/videos/759876484454045/

AGP on its foundation day has been speaking of regionalism but in reality they are numb. They did not raise their voice when Numaligarh Oil fields is in process privatized and the Guwahati Airport got privatized.

Accusing the Assam Government of "destroying" the culture and society of Assam, Gogoi said that the Government who promised to protect the 'Jaati' 'Maati' and 'Bheti', of Assam, are, in fact, pushing it towards its destruction. "The Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma and AGP’s Atul Bora and Prafulla Mahanta have joined hands in taking Assam down this path of utter destructio", Gogoi alleged.

Gogoi further rebuked the Government for "ignoring" the 155th birth anniversary of Lakshminath Bezbaruah, the late cultural doyen of the State. "Besbaruah's birth anniversary was not given proper attention by the Government. Bezbaruah worked for our language and for its protection" Gogoi lamented.

ALSO READ: Anurag Kashyap to Present Acclaimed Assamese Film ‘Aamis’ Across India, Sets November 22 Release Date

Reading out the notification of the Central government regarding the privatization of the oil fields in Assam, Gogoi questioned on what basis the CM wrote to the Centre. “He could have made a phone call or even directed the Chief Secretary to do so,” he added. "All the industries of the state are facing threats now", Gogoi accused.

Terming CM Sonowal as 'incompetent', the former CM said that Sonowal has been trying to fool the people of Assam. “They speak of Act East, Look East Policies, Advantage Assam but in reality, the economy of the country is suffering to an huge extent.

To prove his point, Gogoi pointed to the report by Indian-origin Abhijit Banerjee who won the Nobel Prize 2019 in Economics, which says "Indian economy is on a shaky ground" and the reason was considered to be demonetization, and GST.

Support Inside Northeast (InsideNE), an independent media platform that focuses on Citizen-centric stories from Northeast India that are surprising, inspiring, cinematic and emotionally relevant.