How can BJP solve Assam flood problem by curtailing central funds? asks Ripun Bora

GUWAHATI: The Congress in Assam today said when the BJP government could not take a single step towards mitigation of the flood and erosion problem in the state over the past five years, it has no morale right to seek five more years from the people to solve the perennial problem.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday said at a rally in Nalbari that the BJP can only solve the problem of flood in Assam and asked the people to vote BJP to power another term of five years to solve the problem.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora, however, said the BJP should introspect before making such promises. “Amit Shah should be aware that the National Disaster Response Force under his ministry is engaged in flood control exercises. He should also be aware that his ministry has drastically cut NDRF’s fund allocation by 60 per cent over the past five years. When other flood affected states received funds under the same head to the tune of Rs 13,000 crore, Assam received Rs 284 crore in 2019-20. There was no fund allocation to the state from 2014-19,” he said.

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“We have been hearing about the proposed dredging of the Brahmaputra ever since the BJP came to power. However, the Centre has never allocated a single penny over the past six years. These people think all the people of Assam are mere fools and will believe whatever we say is gospel to them. How can the BJP solve the flood problem when it has stopped fund allocations to the state?” the Rajya Sabha member said.

He also took a dig at Shah’s claim that the BJP is the only party that can solve problems of the tea community. “This is another false promise of Shah. The office of the registrar general of India which falls under the jurisdiction of the Union home ministry deals with issues such as awarding Scheduled Tribe status to a community. The tea community has been demanding ST status for long and the BJP had promised them the same. Can Mr Shah tell us what he did over the past five years in this regard?” he said. “The BJP had promised to fulfill the tea workers demand for increasing their wages to Rs 351 per day. The BJP had promised them to do so within six months of coming to power. However, nothing has materialised over the past four years,” he added.