Guwahati, Jan 4: Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev on Thursday claimed that the Assam TMC would be the foremost adversary to the ruling BJP in the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council elections which are scheduled in Dima Hasao district on January 8.
Addressing a media conference at the district headquarters of Haflong on Thursday, the former Rajya Sabha MP, who joined the party’s campaign for the council polls on Wednesday, asserted that under the leadership of the party’s Dima Hasao district president Aching Zeme, Trinamool Congress stood as the primary competitor to the BJP in Dima Hasao.
Dev accused the BJP’s long-standing approach of attaining power through divisive politics attempting to create rifts between the Dimasa and non-Dimasa communities in Dima Hasao district.
Drawing parallels with Manipur’s turbulent political landscape, she cautioned against adopting a similar policy, fearing it could transform Dima Hasao into a smaller version of Manipur.
Addressing the issue of permanent residential certificates (PRC) for non-Dimasa individuals, Dev questioned the stringent conditions attached to the application process. She suggested that if the government intended to deny PRC to non-Dimasa people, it should openly declare the decision.
Dev also did not spare the Congress in her critique, attributing the party’s current frailty to its “leadership’s alleged secretive alliance with the BJP leaders”. This alleged collaboration, she claims, has betrayed grassroots workers and ultimately led to the Congress’ decline.
Reiterating the Trinamool Congress’s commitment to inclusive development, Dev emphasised on “the disparity between BJP’s development rhetoric and the ground reality”.
The prolonged water crisis in Haflong, the dismal state of educational institutions for seven decades, and challenges in accessing scheme money through ATMs in remote areas became focal points of her criticism.
She concluded by asserting the TMC’s participation in the Dima-Hasao Autonomous Council elections with confidence in securing victory, signalling a determined push for genuine development in the region.
Notably, the party had on Saturday launched its manifesto for the council polls in the hill district.
