The Opposition Congress in Assam on Sunday released a 12-point "chargesheet" ahead of Assembly elections highlighting the ruling BJP's failure to expel the foreigners, complete the NRC, fulfill its promise made in 2016 to protect the identity of the Assamese people, among others.
AICC general secretary and in-charge of Assam Jitendra Singh Alwar released the chargesheet in Guwahati. It was almost similar to what BJP had released in 2015 ahead of Assembly elections in 2016, in which it made several charges against the Congress government. The BJP wrested power from the Congress and formed government in 2016
The Congress' chargesheet alleged that the BJP had come to power in 2016 with a promise to protect jati-mati-bheti (community, land and hearth) of the indigenous Assamese but instead imposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on the people of Assam.
"The CAA is posing a threat to the language, culture and identity of the people of Assam. It is giving a red carpet welcome to illegal migrants to settle in Assam. The saffron brigade has failed to implement the Assam Accord in letter and spirit, and also Clause 6, as promised by them," it said.
It said the BJP had promised to finish the work of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC), started by the Congress, which would help identify foreigners. But the party has stalled the process affecting the genuine citizens dropped from the NRC list.
The Congress also slammed the BJP by asking why it had failed to keep its promise to increase the daily wage of tea garden workers from Rs 167 at present to Rs 351. "The BJP has also backtracked on the promise of providing Scheduled Tribe status to six more ethnic communities in Assam," it said.
The chargesheet also accused the BJP of failure to keep its promises to create jobs, to solve flood and erosion problems, failure to control prices, among others.
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