Guwahati: The opposition Congress party is conducting an in-depth study on the economic hardships faced by the people of Assam under the BJP-led government, with plans to release a comprehensive report within the next two months, said a senior Congress leader.
The leader stated that the study aims to provide a roadmap for addressing the state’s economic woes and will be a key component of the party’s strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections next year.
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All India Congress Committee (AICC) national spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra, during a recent interview, strongly criticized the BJP’s much-touted ‘double engine government, labeling it instead as a ‘trouble engine government’ for Assam.
Sapra accused the ruling party of primarily focusing on “polarisation” rather than addressing the state’s pressing economic issues.
“A study is going on related to the economic hardship of people in Assam and possible solutions to tackle this. Once published, it will also present a future roadmap for revenue generation for the government,” Sapra stated
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Sapra also raised concerns about the Assam government’s beneficiary schemes, asserting that the substantial debt incurred to finance these cash-driven programs poses a significant risk to the state’s financial stability, particularly for future administrations.
“This is going to be a big issue in the coming period. The question is, will Assam be able to handle this huge loan? We will come out with the findings of the study in the next two months. We will give a comprehensive and consistent plan to the people of Assam,” affirmed Sapra.
The Congress leader pointed to the Assam government’s Economic Survey report for 2024-25, which indicates that the average annual borrowings increased by nearly 78 percent over three years starting from 2019-20.
The report also noted a slowdown in the growth of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and per capita income in the last fiscal year compared to the previous one.
“The BJP calls it a double-engine government. But in reality, it is a trouble-engine government. Their only motto is to polarise people with lies and cheat the common man,” Sapra alleged.
Sapra further claimed that the BJP’s work can be summarized as “Jhuth (lies), Jumla (rhetoric) and Jugglery,” and said that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma “experts” these tactics.
“The BJP stands for Bharatiya Jhuth Party, Bharatiya Jumla Party, and Bharatiya Jugglery Party. Polarisation is their main plank, but we will have our action plan to counter them,” Sapra asserted.
“The need of the hour is to put up a combined and consistent effort to defeat the BJP in next year’s Assembly polls. The 10 years of governance here have created a lot of negativity. In Congress, everyone is concerned for Assam, and the central leadership is giving utmost importance to the State,” Sapra noted.
Sapra mentioned that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has engaged in meetings with key Assam unit leaders, emphasizing the importance of unity in upholding the party’s ideology.
“All the senior leaders understood the message and are now working together. The Congress narrative should be hitting, and it should resonate with people’s feelings. The main narrative is going to be corruption, which is affecting the daily life of the common man in Assam,” Sapra stated.
Addressing the BJP’s accusations of corruption in Congress ticket distribution during the recent panchayat elections, Sapra dismissed them as “false allegations” and a “stage-managed accusation” aimed at character assassination, accusing the BJP of being “an expert in social media exploitation.”