Pushing vote for change, Shah flays Gogoi, Rahul

OUR BUREAU

MANGALDOI/MIRZA, April 5: Calling for a vote for change and making a slew of developmental promises, BJP tiol president Amit Shah on Tuesday sharpened attacks on Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at a series of rallies in Mangaldai, Mirza, lbari and Chamota. Landing at Mangaldai in a private helicopter with BJP leaders Mahendra Singh and the party’s chief ministerial candidate Sarbanda Sonowal, Shah took several pot-shots at Congress leaders. Alleging rampant corruption during the 15-year Congress rule in the State, Shah sarcastically said, “Chief Minister Gogoi should be conferred the Bhrastachar Shiromoni award for taking first rank in leading a corrupt regime.” Rubbing it in further, Shah remarked that Gogoi seems “tired to lead the State as its Chief Minister, so the people should elect a young and dymic person like Sarbanda Sonowal to bring about total change”. Sonowal and Mangaldai MP Ramen Deka too addressed the large gathering at the public ground at Bhebarghat here, with BJP-AGP-BPF alliance candidates in the three LACs mely Binda Saikia (Sipajhar), Guru Jyoti Das (Mangaldai) and Habibor Rahman of AGP (Dalgaon) attending the rally. Speaking at a public meet in Mirza to campaign for the BJP alliance candidate Prab Kalita (Palashbari LAC), Amit Shah mounted a vitriolic attack on the Congress tiol leadership. “Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are silent about illegal immigrants, because the Congress party uses them as vote-banks,” he alleged. He also charged that the Congress has a ‘secret understanding’ with Badruddin Ajmal’s AIUDF. Taking a dig at the Congress vice-president, Shah said: “Rahulji does not see the developmental works of the BJP-led government at the Centre because he sports Italian goggles.” He then promised that if the BJP alliance is voted to power in the State, the new government will give priority to power supply, roads and transport, clean drinking water, education and employment generation, and thereby ‘’build up Assam as the best state in the country.” At the end of the meeting, nearly 200 local Congress leaders and workers were welcomed into the BJP fold. Amit Shah also addressed rallies at lbari and Chamota today to campaign for party candidates Ashok Sarma (lbari) and Chandramohan Patowary (Dharmapur).