GUWAHATI, Oct 21: The Opposition Congress in Assam on Thursday made a public appeal, urging the people of the state to “speak out against the ruling party’s propensity to denigrate democracy and hold in contempt the tenets of the Constitution and the role of the Opposition”.
“Taking advantage of loopholes in the anti-defection laws, despite a majority in the government, there is an ongoing conspiracy to weaken Opposition parties by inducing their duly-elected public representatives to defect,” the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) alleged in a statement.
“For a healthy democracy, it is necessary for Opposition parties to point out the mistakes of the government and engage in constructive criticism. However, the BJP does not want this to happen and is trying to weaken the Opposition,” the APCC stated.
“A strong Opposition, both inside and outside the Assembly, will help increase the government’s responsibility, help fulfill promises and make it move on the correct path. Instead of using the people’s support and blessings for their welfare, the leaders of the BJP-led alliance are thinking that the people have given them an open mandate to rule, thus making them arrogant and dictatorial,” the APCC alleged.
The Opposition party further stated that the BJP alliance leadership “is displaying apathy and disregard for people in their arrogance”.
“We all know that the BJP came to power at the Centre and in the state promising ‘acchhe din’ (better days) and ‘change’. But the promise of approaching good days still remains a distant dream as escalating prices of essential commodities like petrol, diesel, cooking gas and vegetables continue to hit people of all sections hard,” it stated.
“Moreover, a state reeling under loans is pushed time after time towards by-elections, spending precious treasury money and creating a dangerous tradition. This has to be strictly controlled by the people otherwise the future generation will come to despise the political field,” the APCC stated.
Meanwhile, the Opposition party staged a statewide protest against hike in the prices of fuel and essential commodities on Thursday in accordance with a directive from APCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah.
“The protest was successfully organised in all the districts by the various district Congress committees,” the statement said.