We’re against foreigners, not Bengali Hindus: Assam Cong

Guwahati: In a move that is being seen as an attempt to provide a balm to voters of the two Lok Sabha constituencies in the Bengali-majority Barak Valley where the Citizenship (Amenndment) Bill found support, the Assam PCC, in its manifesto, said the party is not against Hindu Bengalis but illegal foreigners. It, however, reiterated Congress’s promise made in its national manifesto to do away with the contentious bill immediately after coming to power.
While the bill, which proposes to grant citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh Pakistan and Afghanistan, met with stiff opposition in the Brahmaputra Valley, it found support in the Barak Valley where there are mostly Bengali Hindus.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday skipped a scheduled campaign meeting at Karimganj in the Barak Valley. While there were speculation about how he would address the controversial issue there, party sources said the rally was postponed because he had to leave for Wayanad to file his nomination.

“Addicted to politics on religious lines, it is the BJP which has been spreading a lie that those who are opposing the citizenship bill are anti-Bengali Hindus. BJP is doing this to create polarize voters on religious lines,” the PCC manifesto says.

The state Congress also said it is committed to ensuring publication of a correct and complete NRC where no genuine Indian citizen is left out and no illegal foreigner is included. It also promised to take measures to provide constitutional protection to indigenous people of the state after completion of the NRC update process besides reserving land for the indigenous people.

Taking advantage of BJP’s failure to grant tribal status to six OBC communities of the state despite promising it in the last Lok Sabha and assembly elections, Congress promised to implement it immediately after forming government. The state unit also promised that a Congress government at the Centre will ensure minimum support price of tea leaves, land pattas and financial support to set up a green leaf factory for small tea growers.

For the Barak Valley, the party has promised administrative strengthening of the separate secretariat being built there by the present BJP-led state government besides releasing pending salaries of employees of the sick paper mill at Panchgram in Cachar. It further vowed to complete the Saurashtra East-West Corridor, a bridge over the Barak river in Lakhipur constituency, an AIIMS-like super speciality hospital, increase the number of flights from Silchar to Kolkata, Agartala, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengalaru and Chennai and a superfast train between Silchar and Guwahati.

The party unit also promised to review the BTC Accord to protect political and socio-economic rights of all living in the BTC area. It also promised to take steps to revive all the sick industries in the state.