Political parties, organisations condemn Saikhowa killings

Guwahati, November 2, 2018:

Opposition parties besides various groups and organisations have condemned Thursday’s killings of five people in Saikhowa by unidentified gunmen.

Congress: Congress’s senior spokesperson Apurba Bhattacharya said it was a cowardly act.

“The last night’s incident is really a shameful act. The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee believes it to be an act of a coward. Killing the innocent will not bring any solution. The miscreants should be arrested immediately and punished. The government must accept their failure in safeguarding the lives of the common man and we demand the government to take steps to protect the lives and property of the people. Also, we request the people of Assam to stay calm and be patient to avoid any violent situation,” Bhattacharya said.

AAMSU: Advisor to AAMSU Azizur Rahman said the killings of the innocent should be stopped.

“The home department has failed because in the past few days, many incidents took place but the government did not take any steps. We demand the immediate arrest of the miscreants and severe punishment to them so that nobody dares take up such steps in the near future. We also demand an investigation at a higher level. The government should pay Rs.10 lakh each to the families of the deceased and a job to each of the families. We also urge the people not to create any violent situation following this incident and stay alert,” he said

AIUDF: AIUDF’s chief spokesman Aminul Islam alleged the state government failed to protect the people.

“For this incident, we believe that the government is solely responsible because in the past few days many politicians and MLAs have been making provocative remarks on various issues. We constantly demanded the government to take preventive measures but they failed for which these people lost their lives. We demand a judicial inquiry into the incident so that the actual culprits get identified. We suspect a political agenda. We request the people of Assam to maintain unity and brotherhood. We urge them not to make any provocative remarks on any issue that can harm the peace of the state. The government should give strict orders in each and every district administration to avoid such situation,” he said.

AASU: AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said violence cannot bring solution to any problem to the society.

“The incident occurred due to the failure of the government. They have complete machinery like the military, paramilitary force, police personnel, state intelligence etc but due to their lack of interest, this incident happened. Therefore, the state government is totally responsible for the incident. In recent times, some political leaders, MLAs and MPs have made provocative statements against particular group of people. They have a clear agenda of divide and rule policy on the basis of religion and language creating an unstable environment. It was the duty of the government to take action but they failed to protect the lives of the people. We demand the government set up a strong agency to identify the culprits and give severe punishment to them. We have a clear message to the people of the state to maintain peace and harmony,” he said.

BJP: BJP spokesperson Pramod Swami said dialogue is the best way to resolve problems.

“We demand the government to identify the miscreants and give them strong punishment because in a democracy, nobody has the right to take the law into his hand. The way the innocent people have been killed, it cannot be supported by anyone. I personally feel that through conflict, we cannot achieve anything. Unity is the only way through which we can preserve the fundamental character of Assamese people,” he said.