OUR CORRESPONDENT
DOOMDOOMA: The second phase of the 'Xamay Parivartanor Yatra', launched by the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) and which entered Dibrugarh on Sunday, reached Doomdooma on Monday afternoon.
The Yatra, led by APCC president Gaurav Gogoi, was accompanied by Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia, MP Pradyut Bordoloi, AICC Secretary and Tinsukia District observer Bandhu Tirkey, APCC vice-president and former MLA Dilip Moran, APCC Secretary and former MLA Raju Sahu, and Tinsukia District Congress president and former MLA Durga Bhumij, among others.
A rousing welcome was accorded to the Yatra and party leaders by local Congress workers upon their arrival in Doomdooma. To the accompaniment of slogans and campaign songs, the Yatra proceeded through the main thoroughfares of the town before assembling at Kaliapani Chariali for a public meeting.
Addressing the gathering, Gaurav Gogoi said that the people of Assam now aspire for a peaceful and progressive "new greater Assam" free from fear and intimidation. Launching a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA Government, he alleged that the state was being dominated by a single individual and his family, in whose names 12,000 bighas of land had been registered, depriving the majority of landless indigenous people.
Gogoi further alleged that while government schools were being closed one after another, liquor shops were freely licenced in rural areas, contributing to societal degradation. He expressed concern over the deteriorating condition of Assam's tea industry and exhorted the people to live in peace and harmony, uphold dignity, and be fearless and outspoken, taking inspiration from iconic artist Zubeen Garg.
Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia also addressed the meeting, highlighting that while the poor and landless people of Assam were demanding land pattas, the government failed to provide land rights despite rolling out multiple phases of the Basundhara Scheme. In contrast, he said, the government had significantly increased land revenues.
From Doomdooma, the Xamay Parivartanor Yatra proceeded towards the Digboi and Margherita constituencies, holding several meetings with the public and party workers along the way.
Also Read: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee’s ‘Xomoy Poribortonor’ Yatra enters Sivasagar