Sarbananda Sonowal’s yatra a disaster in the making: PCC chief

DIBRUGARH: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Bhupen Kumar Borah on Monday came down heavily on Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal for taking out the Jan Ashirwad Yatra in the state which he said was a “disaster in the making” in the time of Covid-19.
Addresing media persons at Rajiv Bhawan, the newly elected state Congress president said the BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra was like an invitation to the third wave of the Covid pandemic which will spell trouble for the people.
The Assam unit of the BJP has been carrying out the three-day Jan Ashirwad Yatra from August 21 to 23 to welcome Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The yatra, covering 375.5km has been proceeding through the party's organisational districts of Guwahati, Morigaon, Kaliabar, Nagaon, Jorhat and Sivasagar.
“Instead of continuing the Jan Ashirwad Yatra, Sarbananda Sonowal should apologise to the people for risking their lives during the Covid period. There are different sets of rules for the BJP and the common people. Though the Covid protocol prohibits gathering of more than 200 people in a meeting, we have seen gross violation by the BJP during the yatra. Covid protocols were violated at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, the memorial of Bhupen Hazarika at Jalukbari and other places where there were large gatherings. The BJP government finds faults with others but they are the ones who violate the rules with impunity,” Borah said.
Training his guns on the former chief minister, the Assam PCC president said Sonowal completely failed to solve the problems of the state during his five-year tenure.
“Despite lots of promises made by the previous Sarbananda Sonowal government, the BJP failed to fulfill those. Be it the issue of mega dams, ST status to six communities and implementation of the Sixth Schedule or the Assam Accord, the government failed in every sphere. Sonowal was called ‘Jatiya Nayak’ but he was a failure. The present BJP government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma is claiming huge success against drug traffickers and cattle smugglers in its first 100 days. What does it mean? Indirectly they are saying that the previous Sarbananda Sonowal government was a failure in dealing with those issues,” Borah said.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, former Congress MP Paban Singh Ghatowar were among those present in the meeting.