Assam: BJP hits back at Akhil Gogoi, cites RBI data to defend state’s growth

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The state BJP on Friday launched a sharp counterattack on Raijor Dal president and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi, accusing him of “feigned blindness” towards Assam’s development under Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma.

In a statement issued from state BJP spokesperson Jayanta Kumar Goswami said Assam has emerged as one of the fastest-growing states in the country during 2020–25, a fact acknowledged by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He alleged that claims by the Congress and Akhil Gogoi that Assam has seen no development were politically motivated and misleading.

Reacting to the “economic post-mortem report” released by Gogoi, Goswami said the Raijor Dal leader had selectively quoted portions of the RBI’s Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, 2024–25 to undermine the state government’s achievements. “Out of a 446-page report, only around 40 pages have been cherry-picked to mislead the people of Assam at the very beginning of the new year,” he said.

Highlighting key indicators from the RBI report, Goswami said Assam’s Net State Value Added (NSVA) increased from Rs 2,83,152 crore in 2019–20 to Rs 5,00,314 crore in 2024–25, nearly doubling within five years. He also cited Table 10 of the report, noting that per capita Net State Domestic Product rose from Rs 50,642 in 2015–16 during the Congress regime to Rs 81,127 in 2024–25.

The BJP spokesperson also pointed to improvements in tourism and conservation, stating that Kaziranga National Park, once plagued by frequent rhino poaching incidents before 2016, recorded zero rhino killings in 2025. He said tourist footfall had surged, with 1,39,458 domestic tourists and 6,699 foreign tourists visiting the park between October and December 27, 2025.

Goswami further recalled that Assam’s maternal mortality rate stood at 229 per lakh in 2015 and challenged Akhil Gogoi to present a factual, comparative analysis of the state’s economic and social indicators during the Congress regime and the present BJP-led government.

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