Gohain has failed on all fronts: Saikia

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, July 4: Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia has said that Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain has failed to do justice to the State on many fronts.

Speaking at a party meeting on Tuesday, Saikia said: “In spite of serving the State’s interest in Parliament, Gohain is busy in making comments for political polarization.”

Taking a dig at Gohain, Saikia mentioned that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by the Prime Minister proposed the double-laning of railway tracks in 2013-14 from New Bongaigaon to Agyathuri and Kamakhya up to Dibrugarh. The proposal has never turned into a reality, he said.

Mentioning that in States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar double-laning of tracks was a reality even though they fulfilled lesser criteria under Line Capacity Utilization norms than Assam, Saikia said that Gohain had failed to ensure recruitment of local youths in Group-C and Group-D posts in NF Railway which ultimately went to candidates from outside the State.

The Opposition leader referred to the unsatisfactory progress of work undergoing schemes such as Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana and Prime Minister’s Sadak Yojana in Assam. He said that the BJP’s duplicity could be gauged from the fact that while one Union Minister claiming sufficiency of funds for developmental works, another Union Minister lamenting the slow pace of works in Assam. He also expressed concern over the increase in incidents of mob lynching in Assam and other States due to growing intolerance.

Saikia said that the BJP-led State Government went back on the promises it had made before the elections regarding important issues like regularization of services of contractual teachers, flood control and embankment repair, Brahmaputra excavation, dismantling syndicates and the like. Instead, the government has converted all its pre-poll promises into ‘jumlas’ by specifying deadlines and then flouting them.

In his speech, Saikia reiterated his call for the Chief Minister to respect public sentiment by convening a special session of the Assam Legislative Assembly to dispel apprehensions regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.