Gogoi attacks saffron party over ‘3D’ show

SHILLONG: AICC spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi said on Thursday the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is working on three Ds – divide, destroy and disrupt – to rule over the country.
Addressing a press conference here in the city on Thursday, Gogoi accused BJP of dividing people on food and religion saying the notification on cow slaughter has affected people and cow politics in the country has led to lynching of people.
“Instead of giving jobs, youths are being encouraged to form gau rakshaks,” he said and added that BJP cared more for corporates than farmers.
The young MP continued his salvo by saying BJP is using taxpayers’ money to fund its media marketing.
Rubbishing BJP’s allegations that it was the Congress that brought the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, the Assam leader said it was an NGO belonging to BJP Minister Maneka Gandhi that had filed a petition in the Supreme Court and it is the Ministry of Environment and Forest that issued the notification on cow slaughter.
“People of Meghalaya have the right to protect their culture,” he said.
The Meghalaya Congress has taken up the issue of ban on cow slaughter with the AICC leadership and the centre.
While BJP is singing in a different tune in Meghalaya, its gau rakshaks are lynching people and beating up beef eaters in other states, the latest being in Chennai where a PhD student was thrashed for organising beef festival, Gogoi pointed out.
“Lynching of beef eaters continues even after the Prime Minister condemned the gau rakshaks. This indicates that the PM’s condemnation was only sound byte,” he said.
When asked about the large scale smuggling of cattle from Meghalaya to Bangladesh, Gogoi said it is the BSF and SSB that look after the border and it is the Government of India who will have to take the responsibility for cattle smuggling.
B’desh immigrants
The Assam MP asked the Centre to identify all Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam and deport them back to their country.
While demanding that the Assam Accord should be respected, Gogoi recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that all illegal immigrants from Bangladesh would be deported from the country by May 16.
“We want to know how much they have deported back,” he said and added that granting citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis in India would have a spillover effect and it would affect the local demography and culture of the North East.
“We want the BJP government to find out all Bangladeshi immigrants and deport them back,” he added.