Assam Opposition MLAs ask CM to end discrimination in rolling out schemes to non-BJP Constituencies

Twenty-five opposition legislators from Assam have written to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma demanding an end to “discrimination” in the roll out of schemes to Assembly Constituencies that are not under the BJP party and its allies.

Alleging inconsistencies in the construction of Embankment cum Road under RIDF-XXVII of NABARD, the Opposition leaders claimed that 10 kilometres of additional embankment cum road infrastructure was sanctioned in some constituencies that were under BJP control.

Similarly, they claimed that while Opposition leaders got to develop 16 km of roads under the Mtdchya Mantrir Pakipath Nirman Achani (MMPNA) scheme announced in the latest budget, a 25 kilometre stretch was approved for areas that had ruling party MLAs.

The Opposition MLAs also complained that while only two Model Anganwadi Centres were commissioned in Constituencies under Opposition rule in 2021-22, BJP-led Constituencies got 11 such centres.

The Opposition MLAs further observed such “deliberate discrimination” in the roll out of the Untied Fund, SUHRID, and embankment and anti-erosion schemes.

In the letter, undersigned by Debabrata Saikia (Congress), Rakibul Hussain (Congress), Akhil Gogoi (Raijor Dal), among others, the MLAs said that people across the 126 Constituencies “deserve the equal importance as the people of other constituencies where the ruling parties had won.”

“This discrimination is not appreciative under your leadership as the head of the government and we demand that under no consequence the development of the constituencies where there are MLAs of the opposition parties should be compromised at the altar of the development of those constituencies where there are MLAs of the ruling parties,” the MLAs said, adding “We hope you would take into cognizance the matter seriously and stop this discrimination in a just and responsive manner in the interest of the development of Assam.”