Senior Assam Congress leader and Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi on Monday said the party will continue working in the interests and protection of the employees of the state’s paper mills which have remained closed.
This assurance was given by Assam Congress leader Bordoloi while addressing a press conference in Guwahati.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Kumar Borah recently constituted a committee to look into the government order to the Nagaon Paper Mill to vacate their quarters.
The committee of the Congress party was formed with former commerce & industry minister Pradyut Bordoloi as its chairman.
The vice-chairmen of the committee are Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, North Karimganj MLA and APCC working president and Jakir Hussain Sikdar, Sarukhetri MLA and APCC working president.
Also read: Assam: HPC asks Nagaon and Cachar paper mills employees to vacate quarters
The committee was formed to urgently look into the government order to the employees of Nagaon Paper Mill whereby they have been asked to vacate the residential quarters at the earliest.
Soon after the formation of the committee, a team of the Congress under the leadership of Pradyut Borodoloi visited Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad on Sunday.
They had a meeting with the employees of the Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad regarding the government order to the employees asking them to vacate the quarters, Bordoloi said.
Bordoloi said they discussed the promises made by the BJP government repeatedly to revive the paper mills and the U-turn, and the problems faced by the employees for non-payment of their salaries for 58 months.
The Congress committee also discussed the matter of the death of 93 paper mill employees, Bordoloi said.
The committee also took stock of the situation of the employees in view of the order issued to them.
Assam Congress termed the order, issued by HPC liquidator Kuldeep Verma, to the paper mills’ employees asking them to vacate their quarters within 15 days as “arrogant decision” and “illogical”.
The Congress leader said the government should extend a helping hand towards the employees of the paper mills, release their pending salaries and work for the revival of the closed paper mills.
The HPC received a lease for 100 years to collect bamboo from Assam and Mizoram.
Congress leader Bordoloi said, “The government is keeping the paper mills closed and to benefit some private parties, the government is planning to sell these bamboos to some selective individuals.”
Bordoloi said, “The secret of keeping the paper mills closed is the Assam government is planning to produce ethanol from these bamboos and sell the same.”
“The government, which is planning to hand over the Cachar paper mill to a private party, should make its stand clear on the agreement,” Bordoloi said.
The Assam Congress demanded that the process to sell public assets to private parties should be stopped.