Letters to the EDITOR: Demand for a Kolkata-bound train from Dhubri

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Demand for a Kolkata-bound train from Dhubri

Dhubri is the remotest district of lower Assam. This district has a famous temple (Maa Mahamaya Mandir), mosque, forest, hills, and a big river. The iconic figures Pramathesh Barua and Pratima Barua Pandey were born in this district of Assam. But, unfortunately, this district has no direct train services to Kolkata.

Through this column, I request that our chief minister look into the matter so that we may go to Kolkata directly from Dhubri in a superfast train.

Sanjay Chakraborty

Barpeta Road. (Assam)

Same boat?

Of late, it seems as if both AAP and TMC are in the same boat. Both political parties were born as a mark of protest against corruption and anarchy. Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee are the mentors of AAP and TMC, respectively. Kejriwal, along with his supporters, which included our KMSS chief and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi, staged protests openly on the streets of Delhi under the patronage of Anna Hazare, who is now nowhere. The movement against corruption and misrule of the then CM of Delhi, Lt. Sheila Dixit, launched by Kejriwal under the shadow of Hazare drew massive public support and later overthrew Sheila Dixit and her party from power, and the AAP became the symbol of a corruption-free alternative. Later on, AAP even dethroned the Congress government in Punjab and became a national political party. The very same can be said about TMC, who rode high in the anti-incumbency factors in West Bengal of the then ruling CPM, under whose reign law and order in the state vanished. Like the Delhiites, the voters of WB started dreaming of a new, corruption-free, stable government.

As we know, power corrupts. Both AAP and TMC gradually got infected with the same virus, as evidenced by the number of their big guns languishing in jail or being on bail due to corruption charges. The names of these sinners are known to us.

Both AAP and TMC were the pillars of I.N.D.I.A. and are on the same boat. May God help them.

Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Commemorative Postal Cover

The Patharughat Peasants' Uprising of 1894 in Darrang, which displayed the bravery and sacrifices of the peasants,both Hindus and Muslims, who arose against the imposition of enhanced land revenue by the British,completed its 130 years this year. To disperse the unarmed protesting crowd, the British Military Police resorted to firing on them, which claimed the lives of 140 peasants on the spot and left several injured. The four-day-long observance of 'Krishak Swahid Divas' at Patharughat this year saw the release of a special commemorative postal cover in memory of the 'Krishak Swahid' published by the Indian Postal Department. This initiative of the department,to some extent, would surely serve the purpose of establishing the Patharughat's bravehearts at the national level.

Dheeraj Deka,

Dighirpar, Darrang

Biggest setback for INDIA bloc

The journey of the Opposition INDIA bloc began at his official residence seven months ago. Nevertheless, Nitish Kumar walked out of the alliance on Sunday and took the oath as Bihar's chief minister for the ninth time with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In this way, the leaders of the embattled opposition coalition are clearly at a loss. The biggest setback of Nitish Kumar’s desertion is for Congress. The grand old party's cold comfort in the northern belt was the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in Bihar and in Uttar Pradesh. But it was virtually wiped out of the Hindi heartland in the last round of the Assembly elections. The Congress is in a straight fight with the BJP in all other Hindi-speaking states. The Congress was hoping that the INDIA bloc would put a stop to the Narendra Modi juggernaut in these two states, which together account for 120 seats. Unfortunately, now it seems like a mere dream.

Khalid Hasan,

Panjabari