Cong holds sit-in to protest price hike

Present Government is ‘baki aru faki sarkar’: Rana Goswami
 
HT Correspondent
Guwahati, Oct 21: The Congress on Thursday staged a state-wide protest in Assam over the alleged failure of the BJP-led government to check the rise of prices of fuel and other essential commodities.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee leaders and workers, carrying banners and placards and shouting slogans, staged demonstrations across the state barring Tamulpur, Mariani, Thowra, Gossaigaon and Bhabanipur constituencies where by-elections will be held on October 30.
The party members denounced the BJP for allegedly failing to keep its poll promise of checking the rise of prices of petrol, diesel, LPG cylinders and other essential commodities.
The Congress members carried out a sit-in-demonstration at Srirampur in Gossaigaon.
The sit-in-demonstration was attended by former minister Rakibul Hussain, ex-Pradesh Congress president Ripun Bora, senior Congress leader Wajed Ali Chaudhary and activists of Congress.
Hussain said that the BJP-led government is very much afraid to approach the people now-a-days due to the skyrocketing price of essential commodities.
The Congress leaders asserted that after deceiving the common people Himanta Biswa Sarma is now running pillar to post in order to win by-elections.
“Former chief minister Late Tarun Gogoi had never participated in the bypoll campaign. But Himanta Biswa Sarma is seen participating from one panchayat to another to woo the voters,” said Ripun Bora.
In Jorhat, Congress party members led by APCC working president Rana Goswami along with Jorhat district unit president of the party Dip Gogoi, a former Lok Sabha MP and Titabar MLA Bhaskar Jyoti Baruah staged a sit-in demonstration in support of five demands of the party.
The demonstration was held as per the APCC programme to stage a protest in all district headquarters on Thursday except the districts where five constituencies by-elections were scheduled for October 30. In those districts the stir programme was held in the constituencies scheduled for bypolls instead of the district headquarters.
Goswami, while speaking to newspersons, slammed the BJP-led Government in the state for failing to provide security to women in view of sharp increase in incidents of crime against women in Assam in recent times and also in the past five years.
Goswami, a former two-time Jorhat MLA, termed the present Government as ‘baki aru faki sarkar’ (Government of lies and credit).
He alleged that the Government was taking people for a ride by resorting to lies and taking huge amounts of loans to create hype. The APCC leader stated the Government had recently applied for a loan of Rs 600 crore and will be getting it soon.
He said that such action (taking huge amounts of loans) will put a burden on the citizens.
Coming down heavily on the chief minister and his former Mariani MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi who left Congress and switched over to BJP, Goswami said in a poll campaign rally at Mariani earlier this year he (Sarma) had made very derogatory comment on Kurmi.
He also stated that Kurmi who used to criticise the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a strong manner, also used to lambast Sarma on many occasions, once accusing him of distorting the bihu dance during the poll campaign. However, now both were together, he stated.
Raijor Dal candidate  Sanjib Gogoi contesting as in Independent candidate as the party was not yet recognised by the Election Commission, Congress candidate Lohit Konwar, a former close associate of Kurmi and Gopal Ghatowar of Asom Sangrami Mancha were the other candidates.