GUWAHATI: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the apex students’ organisation in the state, paid homage to three-time chief minister Tarun Gogoi, recalling his strong initiatives against militancy and secret killings to usher in peace and development in the state.
A delegation of the AASU top brass, comprising chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharjya; president Dipanka Nath; outgoing general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi and newly-elected general secretary, Sankarjyoti Baruah visited Sankardev Kalakshetra here on Wednesday to pay their last respects to the departed leader.
Speaking to newsmen, the union’s chief adviser, Bhattacharjya recalled the veteran Congress politician’s long journey as chief minister, while acknowledging his democratic approach and perspective in tackling Assam’s burning problems, “a trait which other politicians need to emulate.”
“He took strong measures against militancy and secret killings to bring peace and progress. He showed interest to solve the foreigners’ issue and even accompanied us to the Bangladesh border to understand the ground situation and take initiatives to seal and secure the border,” the AASU leader said.
Bhattacharjya, also referred to the union’s boycott call of the India-ASEAN car rally (in November 2004) demanding tripartite talks on the Assam Accord implementation at the prime ministerial level.
“However, (the then) chief minister Tarun Gogoi made a commitment that talks would be held with (the then) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he (Gogoi) lived up to his promise to hold the tripartite meeting (in May 2005), from where the process to update the National Citizens Register (NRC) started,” he recalled.
“We had staged agitation after agitation but he respected our demands. It was this knack of taking up various issues (of Assam Accord) and confronting problems through a democratic approach that made him different,” the AASU leader said, while praising his achievements in regard to infrastructure development, be it medical institutions, women’s colleges, sports amenities or successful holding of the National Games in 2007.