Guwahati : Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi slammed the Assam government for granting approval for a mining project to renowned company Vedanta in an area surrounding the Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Jorhat
Gaurav Gogoi, who came down heavily on Assam government for granting approval to Vedanta’s subsidiary Cairn Oil and Gas, also claimed that it is playing double standards by talking about wildlife protection but carrying activities that are detrimental to the environment.
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“The government’s approach is to remove the poor and displace indigenous tribes of Assam of the right to life in their traditional forest areas. But they will turn a blind eye to the destruction of the wild life and forests if it benefits large private mining companies of big businesses. The inference appears that big mining companies are the stakeholders for the BJP government whereas indigenous tribes and environmental concerns are secondary issues,” Gogoi said.
He also claimed that there is a difficulty in carrying out conservation activities in the sanctuary as it is surrounded by tea gardens.
Gogoi, who feels that the BJP has entered into a secret deal with big mining companies due to the upcoming elections, has been carrying out activities that could bring more trouble to the endangered hoolock gibbons besides other species in the sanctuary.
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The politician also alleged Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for trying to divide the society.
Gogoi’s accusations came soon after Sarma declared that he won’t let ‘Miya’ Muslims “take over” the the state.
“Whenever the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is on the back foot he tries to divide the society. But the people of Assam are smarter than him. They will not fall for his divisive rhetoric. They know he has failed as a Chief Minister. Assamese people will remain united and vote out his arrogant government in 2026,” he wrote in a post on X.
Sarma made this statement while speaking in the assembly on adjournment motions brought by the opposition parties to discuss the law and order situation in the state in the backdrop of the rape of a 14-year-old girl in Nagaon.