Guwahati: Asom Gana Parishad(AGP) would like a tribal from the North East as President but has not taken any decision regarding supporting P A Sangma for the post, party president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said on Thursday.
“We have not taken any decision regarding the presidential polls or Sangma’s candidature. Let the notification for the polls be issued first and then we will take a call”, Mahanta also former Assam chief minister told reporters here.
“However, we do not have enough votes in the electoral college to shape the outcome of the presidential polls”, he added.
AGP has one member in the Lok Sabha and two in Rajya Sabha, besides 10 MLAs in the Assam assembly.
Sangma, NCP leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker, has already announced his candidature for the post and has secured support of Tamil Nadu and Orissa Chief Ministers J Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik, respectively.
AGP demands inquiry into LPG scarcity: Mahanta demanded an iquiry by the Centre into the ongoing scarcity of LPG cylinders in the North East.
“We have sent a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy asking for a high level inquiry into the LPG shortage in Assam and North East in recent months,” Mahanta said.
The North Eastern region has been reeling under severe scarcity of LPG cylinders with waiting list at some centres stretching to over a month.
Mahanta also accused the Tarun Gogoi-led state government of economic mismanagement and distorting the real picture of Assam’s financial health.
“Gogoi claims credit for the fact that the Planning Commission has increased allocation for Assam to Rs 10,500 crore in 2012-13 from Rs 9,000 crore in 2011-12. However, states like Punjab and Chhattisgarh whose population are less than Assam have secured much bigger allocations than us,” he said.
He alleged that between April-February of last fiscal the state government could utilise only 43 per cent of the planned allocation. Gogoi talks of development, while the fact is that 70 per cent of Assam’s population survive on an income of less than Rs 20 per day, he added. (PTI)