Congress failed Assam, Gopinath Bordoloi saved it: PM Modi in Guwahati

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 20 launched a sharp attack on the Congress party while addressing a public gathering in Guwahati, alleging that its actions both before and after India’s independence were detrimental to Assam and national interests.

The Prime Minister claimed that the “roots of Congress’s sins” could be traced back to the period preceding independence, when the British government and the Muslim League were allegedly laying the groundwork for the partition of India. He asserted that there was a plan at the time to merge Assam with undivided Bengal, which later became East Pakistan, and alleged that Congress was moving towards being part of that arrangement.

PM Modi said it was then that Assam’s first Chief Minister, Gopinath Bordoloi, stood firm against his own party leadership and foiled what he described as a conspiracy to “wipe out Assam.” He credited Bordoloi with safeguarding Assam’s identity and ensuring that the state remained an integral part of India.

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Highlighting the BJP’s approach to honouring national figures beyond political affiliations, the Prime Minister recalled that Gopinath Bordoloi was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna during the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The Prime Minister further alleged that while Bordoloi had saved Assam before independence, Congress resumed policies after independence that went against national interests. He accused the party of allowing Bangladeshi migrants to vote freely to build its vote bank, claiming this led to a significant demographic imbalance in the region.

According to PM Modi, illegal migrants encroached upon forest land and occupied large tracts of land in Assam, creating long-term socio-political challenges for the state.

The remarks come amid heightened political campaigning in the Northeast, with immigration, identity, and historical legacy emerging as key issues in Assam’s political discourse.