Stakeholders Will Be Consulted on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: Narendra Modi

SILCHAR/KENDUKONA: On the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that the Bill would be passed and given effect to only after taking all stakeholders into confidence. “In any event, nothing would be done at the cost of Assamese identity and culture,” pointed out the Prime Minister. “No injustice will be done to anyone,” he added while addressing a mammoth rally at Ramnagar, five km from Silchar in support of the party’s Silchar candidate Dr Rajdeep Roy and the party’s Karimganj candidate Kripanath Mallah. He also addressed another poll rally at village Sutargaon (Kendukona) near Rangia under the Mangaldai HPC in the afternoon as a part of the BJP’s ‘Vijay Sankalp Samaroh’ in support of the party’s Mangaldai HPC candidate Dilip Saikia and Guwahati HPC candidate Queen Oja.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi further said that his government is doing everything within the framework of the Indian Constitution to implement the Assam Accord and would accord the tribal status to six communities of the State without disturbing the identity of the other ST people.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made a scathing attack on the Congress for neglecting the tea industry and the interest of the workers. He spelt out the measures taken by his government to improve the living conditions of the people serving in the tea gardens. “The Congress leaders now aspiring to be on the seat of power were born with silver spoon. How can they understand the plight of poor tea garden workers?” he asked. Referring to himself as ‘Chaiwala’, he said, “None but I can understand them better.”

Blaming the Congress government for backing infiltration, he said that the BJP government has taken every step to safeguard the Assam-Bangladesh boundary with fencing work to check infiltration from across the border.

Reminding the masses “This election of 2019 is going to be decisive”, Modi said, “The splintered gangs have united just to unseat me in the name of ‘Mahagathbandhan’. You all have to defeat their game-plan for social security and justice to all.”

The Prime Minister again went for a blistering attack on Congress over Kashmir and Article 370 and also Pakistan. He did not elaborate, but asserted “if back to power again, it would be ‘One Prime Minister, one ‘bidhan’ and one ‘sambidhan.’ The move has already begun,” he indicated. “The interest of 130 core people is uppermost and all will have equal share in the development process,” Narendra Modi said.

The Prime Minister said by 2020, there will be no more homeless people. All will have safe drinking water, toilet and gas connection. “Your chowkidar will do it” he pointed out.

In the Mangaldoi rally, the PM further said “The small farmer community of Assam will be covered under the PM Kishan Yojana and the Kishan Pension scheme. I assure you to stand by the aspirations of the people of Assam to turn them into reality.” He also referred to the Bogibeel bridge, the AIIMS at Changsari, the Dhola-Sadiya bridge, and many railway projects, besides other developmental works. Modi stated that these and other projects were taken up for the uplift of Assam during the BJP-led government at the Centre, and urged the people to cast their votes in favour of BJP for another term at the Centre so that he can continue serving the people of the region.

Among those present on the dais in Silchar were Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, party’s Assam in-charge Mahendra Singh, Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, former Minister Kabindra Purkayastha, MLAs and the party’s district committee presidents and office bearers. On the other hand, those present at the Kendukona meet included BJP State president Ranjit Dass, NEDA chairman and State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, MPs Ramen Deka and Bijoya Chakraborty, Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, Guwahati HPC candidate Queen Oja, Minister Bhabesh Kalita, Kamalpur MLA Satyabrata Kalita, Hajo MLA Suman Haripriya besides other senior leaders and party workers of BJP, AGP and BPF.

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