Sonowal’s is a government with no power, says Gogoi

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Jan 11: Terming the government at Dispur a mere puppet, former State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said that the present Dispensation at Dispur does not have any power, not even expanding the Cabinet.  

Addressing the press in the city today, Gogoi said: “The government can’t even take the decision to expand the Cabinet. It’s yet to get a full-fledged Cabinet. In our regimes, we got the Cabinets installed within seven days of swearing-in. There might be one or two lapses. Now the situation has come to such a pass that one minister has to look after as many as nine departments. This is the reason why the administration is in doldrums. How can the government work? The people have to bear the brunt for it. Now all of them want to be ministers.”

Taking a dig at Prime Minister rendra Modi, Gogoi said: “He talks of corruption. Let him inquire into the Luiz Berger scam, Saradha scam. Let him ascertain who are involved in those scams.”

When asked if he has any problem to face a lot new BJP leaders in the State Assembly, Gogoi shot back at the reporters, and questioned: “Who’re BJP leaders? Even the Chief Minister isn’t a BJP leader. Where has Chandra Mohan Patowary come from? Who is Atul Bora? However, no one can say what exactly Himanta Biswa Sarma is. He’s half Congress, half BJP and half AGP. There’s yet another BJP leader – Ronuj Pegu. During the visits of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the last Assembly election in the State, he shared the dais with the top AICC leaders. I was AICC joint secretary and general secretary. He could even bluffed me by pretending to be a loyal Congress leader.”

Gogoi hit out at the AGP on the Citizenship amendment Bill. “Making statement won’t serve the purpose. The AGP has to oppose the Bill at Cabinet meetings. Now the BJP is out to delay the NRC update work. Who’s Dispur to monitor the NRC documents afresh. It’s the RGI that has been given the right to deal with NRC update by the Supreme Court. Now the BJP government is trying to interfere in the affairs of autonomous bodies like the RGI! The party is out to delete the mes of Indians from NRC.”