Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, newly elected President of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) slammed the Congress which, according to him, had resorted to the politics of sycophancy and allurement. Irregularity has become the order of the day in Assam. Mahanta was making his first address after taking over as President of the AGP after a gap of almost 11 years. He described Tarun Gogoi’s government as one that was patronising division among the people in order to remain in power. The Congress is continuing with its colonial tendency of exploiting Assam’s natural resources and the weak Gogoi government was aiding it. The former Chief Minister accused the ruling government of failing to ensure the security of people’s lives. He dared Gogoi to arrest the criminals who had done abductions and murders in the past one year. As Home Minister of the state, Tarun Gogoi is to be held responsible for failure in this area. Mahanta’s other allegation was that the government had failed to stop illegal immigration from Bangladesh.
Mahanta’s allegations are not baseless. But the AGP has to be tarred with the same brush. His personal profile is not shining either. As Chief Minister in the past, he was implicated in the Letter of Credit scam. He fell out with his colleague Bhrigu Phukan. He got unpopular with his party for the scandal over his relationship with his secretary and his divorce. He then formed a breakaway party. The reunification has not helped very much. His government was also blamed for an unholy nexus with criminals and to some extent militancy. He was just as tolerant of the influx from Bangladesh to increase his vote bank. The fact that the Congress has performed a hat-trick in the elections is a pointer. Nevertheless, his invective may be considered a warning to the ruling government to pull itself together.