Guwahati: Blaming the erstwhile successive Congress governments at the Centre of failing to implement the Assam Accord, state government spokesman Chandra Mohan Patowary on Saturday accused it and Left parties of attempting to derail the economic development of the state in their political interests.
Patowary, who is also the state’s industries minister, blamed the Congress governments at the Centre for not implementing the Accord for the last 34 years since its signing in 1985. The Accord had ended the six-year-long movement against foreigners in Assam.
Patowary said, “The Congress has no right to destabilise Assam and derail the state’s economic progress in its political interest as the party took no progressive measures during its rule of about 60 years in the state since independence.”
“So, we tell Congress if they want to do politics, let them go to the people at the time of election. We condemn their attempt to destabilise the state,” he said.
Stating that both Congress and the Left parties had opposed the Assam agitation (1979-85), Patowary said, “I know it for certain as I had led it from the front as a leader of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) then. These parties have suddenly become nationalists. Congress had oppressed us then, but now by saying Joi Aai Axom (Hail Mother Assam) in Assembly, they don’t become nationalists”, he said.
The protests in Assam against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are being spearheaded by AASU.
Continuing his criticism, Patowary said, “The Left had supported the Congress in Delhi and did nothing for Assam. We urge the people of the state to keep away from them and their cheap politics and reject them as their destabilising activities are affecting Assam’s development”.
He said the BJP government of Sarbananda Sonowal has been laying stress on implementation of the Assam Accord and Clause 6 of it, which provides constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.
On the ongoing movement by the AASU, Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad and other ethnic organisations opposing the Act, he said, “We have allayed the concerns of our foreign and domestic economic investors by explaining to them that the youth organisations’ agitation is democratic. The violence and arson (in Assam after the CAA) have not been done by them (the youth organisations) but by miscreants and third force,” he said.
Patowary said the reluctance of investors will negatively impact the employment avenue of the youth in the state.
“We (BJP) have created an atmosphere for investment to take the state forward to its economic development and make it one of the five most developed states of the country”, the industry minister added.
Elaborating on the economic measures taken by Sarbananda Sonowal government in the state, Patowary said the industries and commerce department had organised the Global Investors Summit Advantage Assam on February 3-4, 2018, when a total of 263 MoUs were received, of which 207 MoUs worth Rs 79,000 crore approximately were signed.
Post the summit, investments from MoUs are Rs 8,871.94 crore, while those with companies outside the state fetched investments of Rs 44,592.25 crore amounting to a total of Rs 53,464.19 crore, which includes Rs 42,782.28 crore in the oil and petroleum sector. (PTI)
