Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday released a 20-point “chargesheet” against the BJP-led Assam government, accusing chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of corruption and using state machinery to create fear among minorities.The chargesheet was unveiled in Guwahati ahead of the upcoming elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly. The Congress alleged that the BJP government had failed to fulfil key promises made during its decade-long tenure.Among the issues raised, the party said that the government did not grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six indigenous communities as promised. It also alleged that the BJP had failed to increase the daily wages of tea garden workers to Rs 351.The Congress further accused the state government of “rampant corruption,” claiming that the CM, some of his close ministers and their family members had “accumulated wealth illegally.” The chargesheet also alleged that the government engaged in “bulldozer justice” and carried out selective evictions targeting minorities, according to news agency PTI. Priyanka Gandhi, who is chairperson of the Congress screening committee for the Assam polls, is on a two-day visit to the state to finalise the party’s list of candidates. She was received at the airport by Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and other senior leaders.Soon after arriving, she visited the revered Kamakhya Temple atop the Nilachal Hills to offer prayers. “I sought the blessings of Maa Kamakhya, and I am feeling very good after offering prayers at the temple,” she told reporters.Speaking about the party’s preparations, Gandhi said that she would personally meet party leaders and workers to gather feedback before distributing tickets. “I am meeting everyone and taking their suggestions and feedback. That is what we will do for two days, trying to meet as many people individually as we can. Members of the screening committee have been going to every district. They will take feedback and then assess it. Our efforts are to distribute the tickets well and contest the elections strongly,” she said.When asked about alliance talks, she said people should “wait and watch what happens.”Meanwhile, CM Sarma expressed confidence that the BJP would return to power in the state under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Addressing a BJP ‘Booth Vijay Sankalp Sabha’ in Guwahati, Sarma highlighted development initiatives in Assam, including the recently approved underwater tunnel in the Brahmaputra River connecting Gohpur and Numaligarh. He described it as “an unimaginable gift to Assam.”“This time we will win, by making a record. What we want was given by the Prime Minister to Assam… What we can’t imagine, the Prime Minister has given an unimaginable gift to Assam,” Sarma said.
