GUWAHATI, Oct 25 � With the election to the Assam Legislative Assembly approaching, the Asom Gana Parishad Legislature Party (AGPLP) has decided to take full advantage of the ensuing Winter Session of the Assembly, scheduled to begin on November 8, to put the Government on the back foot.
The AGPLP met here today to discuss the party�s strategies for the Assembly session and demanded that the number of working days for the session should be increased to five so that at least one day can be devoted to private member�s business.
Talking to The Assam Tribune after the meeting, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said that the issue of construction of mega dams would be one of the key issues for the legislators of the party in the ensuing Assembly session. He said that the legislators have approved the AGP central committee�s decision to oppose construction of mega dams and would take part in the agitation launched by the regional party opposing the same.
Reacting to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi�s claim that the AGP had earlier supported construction of dams, Mahanta said that the AGP had demanded multipurpose projects to control floods. But the Government of India went ahead with construction of dams only for power generation with no measure for flood control. He pointed out that the havoc created by floods after construction of Ranganadi and Kopili hydropower projects as well as the dam projects in Bhutan taught bitter lessons to the people of Assam and now no one should support construction of mega dam projects. He said that technical experts also voiced their opinion against construction of mega dams.
Mahanta said that price rise would be one of the key issues for the Opposition in the Assembly. He alleged that the Government miserably failed to take any concrete step for checking price rise of essential commodities, making life miserable for the common people. He pointed out that the AGP has already launched a state-wide movement against the failure of the Government to control price rise and the legislators of the regional party would raise the issue forcefully in the Assembly.
Mahanta said that the decision of the Government to suspend the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would be one of the key issues for the legislators of the regional party and they would demand that the process should be resumed immediately.
The problems along the international and inter-state boundaries have become a matter of serious concern for the people of Assam and the State Government has failed to play its part in this regard. Mahanta said that the AGPLP today discussed the issue and �we are of the view that the Government of India should play the key role in dealing with the problems.�
The financial scam in North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, corruption in implementation of the PMGSY and other Central schemes etc., would also be raised by the AGP in the Assembly session, Mahanta added.
