Guwahati: Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday tried to play down the strong presence of hisonce blue-eyed boy and one of his most trusted ministers Himanta Bishwa Sharma in the oppositions BJPcamp saying that Himanta donning the saffron was not a matter of concern for the Congress.
“Who is Himanta ? My fight is against Modi and the BJP government led by him which has done injustice to Assam by removing the special category tag attached to the state and thereby deprived the state of about Rs 6500 crore worth Central fund this fiscal,” Gogoi said.
Gogoi made light of protest staged by the BJP workers against his government stating that the BJP government at the Centre has already exposed its pro-rich character.
“The BJP before Lok Sabha polls promised to bring down the prices which has not happened instead prices and essentials and medicines have soared.”
While the BJP workers in Assam hit the street in a massive way on Wednesday to protest the rule of inefficiency and corruption against the ruling Congress party, chief minister Tarun Gogoi asserted that Congress would contest the next Assembly election in 2016 on its own and without any alliance.
“Congress doesn’t need alliance to contest Assembly election next year. It is the BJP which has fast lost its confidence, that is knocking at doors of various political parties with proposal for poll alliance to achieve its ‘oust Congress’ endeavour,” Gogoi said here on Wednesday.
Referring to the BJP’s overtures to have poll alliance with regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), Gogoi quipped, “BJP has been talking of its Mission 84 (winning 84 seatsout of the 126 Assembly seats in Assam), but it has now become unsure about it and hence is looking for poll alliance with many political parties.”
Both the AGP and the BPF have denied to have concretized any poll alliance with the BJP which, they said, has been in touch with both the parties.
The state BJP leaders, Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare and Dr Himanta Bishwa Sharma took the BPF leader Hagrama Mohilary to meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi sparking speculations about a possible BJP-BPF alliance before Assembly polls.
Over 300 BJP workers including some leaders were detained while many were injured when police prevented protesting BJP workers from laying siege to the state Secretariat and the State Assembly.
City police commissioner Mukesh Agarwala said police had to use stun grenades and tear gas cells to disperse the protestors who had violated Section 144Cr PC that was in force.
