Assam Polls: Opp Cong accuses Sonowal Govt of running ‘syndicate’

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GUWAHATI:

The Opposition Congress continued to raise the poll pitch ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Assam, accusing the BJP-led state government of running a ‘syndicate’ and being hand and glove in sponsoring and carrying out cow trade across the border with Bangladesh.

While addressing reporters here on Wednesday evening, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel accused Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal “of not running a government but a syndicate.”

“BJP has been seeking votes in the name of cows countrywide. But in Assam, it has been hand and glove in sponsoring and carrying out cow trade across the border with Bangladesh. The Sonowal government has been running a systematic syndicate,” Baghel alleged.

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“It is a fact that the meat export of Bangladesh has grown manifold in the last few years. Since BJP came to power in Assam in 2016, cow trade and exports of cow meat in Bangladesh have gone up by 211 per cent in just two years,” he said.

Baghel also alleged that the syndicate was not limited to cow trade.

“The Sonowal government has broken all records in coal brokerage and illegal coal trading. Almost 500 trucks of illegal coal transportation are taking place every day. Besides, syndicates are dealing in bamboo, pan, fish, etc.,” the Congress leader alleged.

The Chhattisgarh chief minister further brought up the unemployment problem in Assam, informing that 16.42 lakh people were unemployed between 2016 and 2018.

“This figure has increased to 20 lakh in 2020, which implies that instead of giving employment, BJP government has snatched jobs from around 5 lakh people,” he alleged.

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Baghel also questioned the Sonowal government’s “silence” on tea labour reforms.

“Our leader Rahul Gandhi had made a promise (of increasing the daily wages) to tea workers. I want to assure the people of Assam that this promise will be fulfilled as was fulfilled in Chhattisgarh where the Congress government waived farmer loans within two hours of taking (the) oath,” he said.

“We are buying paddy from farmers at (the) minimum support price. We are also paying Rs 10,000 per acre to the farmers for paddy, sugarcane and maize cultivation under a new scheme called Rajiv Gandhi’s Kisan Nyay Yojana,” he added.

The grand old party is amid a “Save Assam” poll campaign with senior leaders touring across the state and promising people all it can to prevent the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) from being implemented.

(Edited by Andre Kongri)

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