'Congress wary of losing minority votes'

Assamese definition brouhaha

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, May 2: Speaker Prab Kumar Gogoi today said he is "clueless" as to why his initiative to frame a definition of Assamese has generated a hullabaloo. "It was an honest attempt on my part. I do not know why it has created a controversy. I have given the report to the Chief Minister. It is now up to the government to decide what to do with it," Gogoi told a press conference.

A day after both Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and APCC president Anjan Dutta tried to downplay the Speaker’s initiative as a “persol” one, Prab Kumar Gogoi maintained that while he had persolly taken initiative in the matter, he had obtained permission from the House before embarking on the exercise.

“The report has been given keeping in mind the future of Assamese society. The intention was to ensure that the Assamese get constitutiol safeguards as enshrined in Clause 6 of the Assam Accord which was signed in presence of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi,” he said, adding, “Now party leaders are saying many things. Probably they fear losing minority votes.”

Anjan Dutta had yesterday said that Prab Kumar Gogoi will not contest the next Assembly elections and that is why he was “talking like anything.”

“Yes, I had said I won’t contest the next elections. But a lot will depend on the decision of the party high command,” the Speaker retorted today, adding that “if necessary” he will inform the party high command about the dispute between him and other senior leaders on the issue.

The Speaker said that when he submitted the report to the Chief Minister, the latter had told him that the definition of Assamese should be framed after a “consensus” among all stakeholders.

On the allegations that he had not taken views from political parties, Gogoi said, “We all know the opinion of the political parties. What is the use of taking the views of AIUDF? I have held discussions with fifty-three organizations.”