Guwahati, Feb 14: In a major setback for the Opposition Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Assam, two veteran Congress MLAs – Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and Basanta Das – have extended unconditional support to the ruling BJP in the Assam Legislative Assembly.
The two legislators stated that the growth-oriented vision of the BJP-led government in the state and development work done by the Assam chief minister over the years have influenced their decision even as they said they would remain with the Congress as MLAs.
Purkayastha, a three-time legislator Karimganj North constituency, also tendered his resignation from his post of Assam PCC working president with immediate effect, even as he clarified that he would remain a primary member of the Congress.
“I have decided to extend support to the BJP government considering the development work done for the constituency, people and the state,” the 46-year-old legislator, known to be vocal in the Assembly, said while speaking to mediapersons on Wednesday.
Das, an MLA from Mangaldai constituency and a former Cabinet minister in the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in Assam from 2011 to 2016, echoed the same perspective, stating that his constituency has seen considerable development in the past couple of years, courtesy the development-oriented work of the incumbent state government.
“We have cooperated with the work done by the BJP government in Mangaldoi constituency, which is a district headquarter, even as there is more work to be done in the next two years,” he said.
The two legislators also met Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirming their support to the BJP government in the state.
Welcoming the decision of the Congress MLAs, the chief minister said, “This will provide us more strength to work for the people. I respect the decision of the two MLAs. While development work in their constituencies is underway, we will work with the two legislators in a bid to further develop North Karimganj and Mangaldoi constituencies in the coming days.”
The chief minister said more legislators from the Congress have expressed their desire to support the state government.
“Now the Congress has framed rules that their legislators cannot attend government meetings or meet ministers. So, how will the MLAs convey what they need for their constituencies or interact with the ministers. Six to seven Congress MLAs have met me in this regard over the past few days and expressed their grievance in this regard,” Sarma told mediapersons.
To a query whether Assam was heading towards an Opposition-free state, he said, “Assam will become a state where all MLAs will support the state and central government. Now, people are very happy with the kind of work done by the Narendra Modi-led government in Assam while the state government is also trying to complement it. It is a double-engine government. So, in mind and heart, there is no Opposition in Assam.”
It may be recalled that a couple of years back, Congress MLA from Raha constituency Sashikanta Das had extended support to the Sarma-led BJP government from within the Congress to facilitate development in his constituency.
“Now, you see that the number of Congress legislators supporting the BJP government in Assam has risen to four. In the coming days, more MLAs will be following suit,” he said.
Reacting to the development, Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah stated that a decision on the “action to be taken” against the party MLAs would be taken only after deliberations with the party high command.