Assam Lok Sabha elections 2024: CAA major poll issue for AAP in state, says party leader Atishi

The Aam Aadmi Party strongly opposes the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and this is an important issue for it in the Lok Sabha polls in Assam, senior party leader Atishi said here on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters, she said that when the government was unable to give jobs and houses to its own people "then why should they bring people from other countries and create problems?"

"This will be a major issue that we are going to raise during our campaign for the two Lok Sabha seats in Assam," she said.

Atishi, who is the education minister of Delhi, is in Assam on a three-day visit to campaign for the party's Dibrugarh candidate Monoj Dhanowar and Sonitpur nominee Rishiraj Kaundinya.

She said that another major issue for her party was the wage of tea garden workers in Assam which was much less than that in other states.

Delhi has the highest minimum wage, she said.

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"Quality of schools and hospitals are the other issues for AAP," she added.

Atishi claimed that over the last few years, nearly 8,000 state-run schools were closed down in Assam citing poor enrolment.

The enrolment went down as the condition of the schools was very poor, she alleged.

In the state's hospitals, very few doctors and medicines are available, she claimed.

On the new schemes announced by the BJP-led government in the state, Atishi said people were aware that those were introduced with an eye on the elections.

"It is not that he (CM Himanta Biswa Sarma) has come to power recently. If he really wanted to do something for the women and the poor, he would have done it already," she said.

On AAP, which is a part of the opposition bloc INDIA, fielding candidates in two seats of Assam, Atishi said it was "unfortunate"

"When there is an alliance in the rest of the country, it should have happened here also. Nevertheless, the two candidates are putting up a spirited fight and the AAP is sure of opening its account in Assam," she said.

Atishi said the people of Assam showed their trust in her party in the municipal polls, and "we are sure they will do it this time too".