How wily Baishya of AGP got ‘chota pul’ approved by Paswan

GUWAHATI: The plan to build the Bogibeel Bridge — India’s longest rail-cum-road-bridge over the Brahmaputra — was not part of the written railway budget of 1996 but was a verbal commitment by then railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan of the United Front government in the Lok Sabha during his budget speech.
Then steel minister Birendra Prasad Baishya of Asom Gana Parishad, who had shrewdly made his cabinet colleague Paswan believe that it would be a ‘small bridge’ and would not be a big deal for the Centre, recalls how five AGP members decided to get the bridge sanctioned after getting elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996 and becoming a partner in the United Front government headed by Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. “We five went to the railway ministry and were told that the bridge would not happen so easily as it would cost a huge amount of money. At that time, the estimated cost was Rs 2000 crore. But we were determined to get the project sanctioned,” said Baishya.

He added, “At the cabinet meeting, when Ram Vilas Paswan put up his railway budget for approval, I opposed it strongly because there was no mention of the Bogibeel Bridge. Prime Minister Deve Gowda then asked Paswan to discuss the matter with me but I had already come out of the cabinet meeting and went to Parliament.”

At the lobby in Parliament, when Baishya and other AGP MPs were talking, Paswan came up to Baishya to discuss the issue as the PM had wanted. “Paswan asked me why I was angry and I told him that it is because he could not even include a chota pul at Bogibeel in the budget. Paswan said don’t worry, write down what you want and I will announce the it during my speech. I asked my party colleague Arun Sarma to write down in a piece of paper that we want a small bridge connecting Dibrugarh in south with Dhemaji in north and gave the piece of paper to Paswan,” recalled Baishya.

Inside Parliament, Baishya that day was seated behind Paswan. “I was getting impatient as Paswan was not saying it. Finally, at one point of time, he took out that small piece of paper from his pocket and announced the plan to build a ‘chota pul’ at Bogibeel. It was recorded in the proceedings,” said Baishya.

But Paswan soon realized what he had done after he came out of Parliament. “Outside, the railway board officers rushed to Paswan and asked him what he had done. They told him that it was not a chota pul but a huge bridge over the mighty Brahmaputra,” said Baishya. The wily Baishya then got down to request the PM to include the Bogibeel Bridge in the economic package he would announce during his seven-day trip to the northeast.

“On Januray 22, 1997, PM Deve Gowda laid the foundation of the bridge at Dhemaji and today it has turned to be the country’s longest bridge,” said Baishya. Refusing to take any credit for it, he added, “For me, it was a long cherished dream of the people which is more important.”