Veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh here on Friday said that there is a secret understanding between the BJP and the All-India United Democratic Front to divide secular votes in Assam.
Launching a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Ramesh told reporters that the fight is between the Congress and the BJP. “In fact, the fight is between the Congress and the RSS, which has the remote control of the BJP. If the RSS pushes fast forward, the BJP goes on fast-forward mode,” Mr Ramesh said, adding, “What the Congress did for Assam’s development in the past 15 years, the BJP has been trying to stop it.”
Pointing out that the Congress had granted the status of special category state to 11 states, including Assam, Mr Ramesh said that the BJP has taken back this status besides curtailing financial assistance to the state. “Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been inaugurating new projects which were set up during UPA regime in Assam,” Mr Ramesh said, adding that the BJP has done a great damage to Assam by withdrawing incentives for the development of the Northeast industry. He said that the BJP’s policy was responsible for forcing many industrial units to close.
Justifying the necessity of the Northeast Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), Mr Ramesh said the suspension of the policy will have a cascading impact on the industrial health of the entire Northeast, including Assam.
Mr Ramesh said that development is a mere slogan for Mr Modi. “Mr Modi talks about development and at the same time his party president Amit Shah propagates his communal agenda,” he said.
Mr Ramesh said that the BJP has excessive reliance on its communal agenda that they applied in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the Bihar elections as well. “I am confident that the people of Assam will foil the design of the saffron brigade to communalise the atmosphere of the state by giving another chance to the Congress led by Tarun Gogoi,” said Mr Ramesh.
“Let Assam be Assam, don’t make it Gujarat,” said Mr Ramesh.
