CM Sarbananda Sonowal flags off audio-visual vans at Khanapara in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has flagged of a fleet of 48 audio-visual vans to proceed among the masses with its twin objectives – making people know the achievement of the State government in the past five years and to receive people's suggestions on subjects for incorporation in the party's manifesto for the forthcoming Assembly election.

Traditionally, making an election manifesto is an activity done in the office desk. However, this time around the State BJP is set to receive what the public at the grassroots level wants the party's election manifesto to be like. With such a move, the party wants to make its poll manifesto a "rendering of people's wishes".

While the monitor screens of the audio-visual vans will display short documentaries on the government's achievements, each of the vans will display a number – 7383273832 – for sending miscalls by people. After receiving the miscalls, the control room of the party will contact the persons concerned and take note of their suggestions for incorporation in the election manifesto.

Before flagging off the audio-visual vans, the Chief Minister said, "We've fulfilled our promises making Assam free from foreigners, corruption, pollution and insurgency.

"We've been able to put many corrupt people behind bars through our policy of 'Zero tolerance to corruption'. The public opinion built against corruption in the State now is the direct fallout of the stance taken by us against the menace.

"With the armed insurgents showing their loyalty to the Constitution of India and laying down arms, peace is back in the State.

"At the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, infiltration through the 48-km riverine border along Bangladesh has been sealed with Israeli technology.

"The successive Congress regimes had given the poachers a free run in the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) where poaching and encroachment of land by people of suspected nationalities were rampant. Protecting the national park and other reserve forests in the State was a challenge for us. Now the KNP is no longer a haven for the poachers and the one-horned rhinos can graze there fearlessly.

"According to the latest 'Forest Survey of India' report, the forest area in the State has been increased by 222 sq km. This is the outcome of the planting of 8.50 crore saplings in the State."

NEDA (North East Democratic Alliance) convener Himanta Biswa Sarma, State BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Das and others were also present at the function.

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