The first day of the summer session of the Assam legislative assembly witnessed noisy scenes over the issue of the ongoing flood situation in Assam even as the opposition Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) boycotted the House amid the ruckus.
The problem started after the opposition parties including the Congress and AIUDF demanded the speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami to allow a discussion on the ongoing flood situation in Assam immediately after the session started.
The speaker, however, said that the discussion will take place after the question hour, to which the Congress and AIUDF legislators protested showing placards and staged a walkout.
Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia said that the government has failed to handle the flood and erosion issue which is ravaging the state at present.
Later, however, both the ruling and Opposition legislators met in the House to discuss the flood and erosion issue.
AGP legislator Brindaban Goswami appealed the House to adopt a resolution so that the Centre can be approached for declaring Assam’s flood and erosion problem as a national calamity.
Goswami justified that the members of the House must rise above the party lines and join hands to move a proposal to the Centre to declare floods and erosion in Assam as a national calamity.
AIUDF legislator Aminul Islam also appealed the House to adopt a resolution to press the Centre to declare the Assam’s flood and erosion problem as a national calamity.
He said that the floods and erosion problem in Assam is no less serious than the floods in Gujarat or Kerala.
“However, the floods and erosion problems in Assam are not taken as seriously by the Central government as they consider the floods problems of Gujarat and Kerala,” Islam said.
“If the Centre considers the resources of Assam as a national resource, why cannot the problems of Assam be considered as a national problem too?” Islam questioned.
BJP legislator Mrinal Saikia, on the other hand, said that the Central government has shown its sincerity towards solving the floods and erosion problem.
“Mere announcing the floods of Assam as national calamity would not solve the problem. The Centre has recently sanctioned Rs. 100 crore to study the floods and erosion problems of Assam, a step taken never before,” Saikia said while appreciating the steps taken by the Centre.