Assam Congress rebuts allegations by BJP leader Debolal Gorlosa in Haflong

With the Assembly elections drawing closer, political activities have intensified across Assam, and Dima Hasao district has witnessed a fresh war of words between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

 

On February 10, evening, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) General Secretary Nirmal Langthasa addressed a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan in Haflong, responding to allegations levelled by BJP leader and Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, Debolal Gorlosa.

 

Refuting Gorlosa’s claims that land was allotted to NEEPCO during the Congress regime, Langthasa clarified that the land allocation was made in 1977 when his father, Gobinda Chandra Langthasa, was serving as the CEM of the autonomous council. He stated that the allocation was made to NEEPCO, a Government of India enterprise, at a time when there was an urgent need for power generation in the Northeast and Assam.

 

Langthasa further said that in 1983, when he became a state minister, coal mines in Dima Hasao were handed over to the Assam Mineral Development Corporation (AMDC). He argued that had the mines not been transferred to AMDC, they might have gone to Coal India instead. According to him, the decision ensured employment opportunities for local residents.

 

Drawing a contrast between the Congress and BJP regimes, Langthasa alleged that under the present BJP government, thousands of bighas of land have been handed over to private companies without the consent of local villagers. He claimed that nearly 40,000 bighas of land in Assam’s hill districts have been sold to private entities.

 

He also alleged that illegal coal mining activities began in areas such as Purulangso village and Umrangso Kalamati after the BJP came to power. Raising concerns about tribal land, he said that under the Sixth Schedule and Article 244(A) of the Constitution, local communities should retain control over their land and resources. He accused the BJP of ignoring the future of indigenous people by facilitating large-scale land transfers.

 

Responding to allegations that the JP Cement project in Umrangso did not materialise during the Congress era due to insurgency-related issues, Langthasa said the project was stalled after the abduction and killing of the company’s project manager. He asserted that the people of the hill districts have not forgotten the circumstances that led to the project’s closure.

 

Langthasa maintained that the Congress party has always made sacrifices for the people and is not opposed to development. However, he stressed that development must go hand in hand with economic empowerment of local communities.

 

He further questioned how many local contractors in Dima Hasao had been given opportunities under the BJP government, drawing a comparison with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s emphasis on “Assamese sentiment” and the rise of Assamese contractors. He asked whether similar opportunities had been created in the name of “Dimasa sentiment” in the hill district.

 

The press conference marked another escalation in the ongoing political confrontation between the BJP and the Congress in Dima Hasao ahead of the Assembly elections.