Government has failed to help needy people: Debabrata Saikia

TULSIBEEL SUICIDE CASE

* Demands details of funds collected to combat pandemic

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia on Tuesday said the government has failed to help the needy people who have been affected by the lockdown. Expressing sorrow and concern over the mass suicide of five members of the same debt-ridden family in Tulsibeel under Gossaigaon sub-division, as well as the suicide of a bhaona attire supplier in Jorhat town for the same reason, he called for a high-level enquiry into the whole issue.

He demanded that the Chief Minister should immediately announce a special financial package to assist the families which have been adversely affected by the series of corona-related lockdown and, pending passing of a full-fledged law, promulgate an ordinance to rein in certain micro finance institutions (MFIs) which are luring simple folk into a debt trap by giving loans on simple criteria and then charging compound interest from the debtors.

The Leader of the Opposition further demanded that details of the funds collected from the public by the State government in the name of combating the corona pandemic should be made public and that the funds should be used for providing financial aid to needy families. Saikia stated that first the NarendraModi government crippled the unorganized economy of the country through demonetization and then the Central and State governments virtually devastated small businesses and daily wage earners via unplanned lockdowns. Those who committed suicide due to poverty yesterday are actually the victims of the abject failure of the Modi and Sonowal governments, he said. Stating that some micro finance institutions have aggravated the economic crisis in Assam, Saikia mentioned that in November last year he had apprised the Governor of Assam of the nefarious activities of some MFIs and he had also moved a Resolution Proposal in the Assam Legislative Assembly recently, seeking steps to regulate the activities of the MFIs.

Saikia revealed that he had written to the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary of Assam on 30th March, 1st April, 8th April, 16th April, 2nd May, 16th May, 25th June and 12th July about the economic hardship faced by common people and suggested several remedial measures, including grant of Rs. 7,500 per month to needy families. However, the State government has utterly failed to take any step to alleviate the misery of common folk. In this context, Saikia castigated the Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance Minister, Dr. HimantaBiswaSarma, saying that with an eye on the ensuing Assembly elections they are announcing sops like gold, money to open bank accounts and the like, but the government has left those who have been ruined by the lockdowns, or those who have lost their jobs due to the corona pandemic, to face their own fate. This type of policy has exposed the opportunistic and cynical mentality of these leaders, he said.

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