GUWAHATI, April 8 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the people of Assam to give a decisive mandate so that a new destiny can be scripted for the State.
Addressing his last election meeting at Maligaon, here after a whirlwind campaigning in the State, Modi said that the ball is now in the court of the electorate to decide the course of Assam.
The Prime Minister�s election rally was attended by thousands of citizens who started pouring in much ahead of the scheduled time. Soon after his arrival, Modi was extended a traditional felicitation and presented with gifts by party members.
Addressing the gathering, Modi expressed the hope that the month of Bohag, which also heralds the Assamese New Year, will definitely see a new government in power that will ensure transparency, accountability and development.
It needs to be mentioned that this was the fourth meeting that Modi addressed on Friday.
�I am grateful to the people of Assam for the faith they have bestowed on us. This election is not about winning or who comes to power. This largest democratic exercise is for deciding the future of Assam and I am sure the electorate will take the right decision in which direction Assam needs to go,� said Modi.
Modi, in his address, slammed the Congress and said that Congress misdeeds and misrule pushed Assam into an abyss and only the BJP can pull Assam out from this quagmire of hopelessness.
Hailing the huge voter turnout during the first phase of polls, Modi said that this has left the Congress with no hopes and even the Chief Minister now looks like a withered plant after seeing the enthusiasm of the electorate for change.
Presenting the welcome address, AGP president Atul Bora said that Congress will be ousted from power as people are aspiring for a change. He said that the wave of change has swept across the State and the time has come for Congress to bid adieu to Dispur after 15 years of misrule.
The meet was also attended by many Central ministers, MPs, senior BJP leaders and other alliance leaders, including Kiren Rijiju, Jitendra Singh, Mahendra Singh, Bijoya Chakraborty, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Hagrama Mohilary and others.
BJPs chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal sought the blessings of the people of Assam to bring a change in the State and place Assam at the topmost position of development graph of the country.
Our Raha Correspondent adds: Addressing a mammoth rally at Madhya Tupakuchi here, ahead of the second phase of elections to the State Assembly, Modi said that the 15-year Congress rule in the State saw no effort for improvement of the condition of the people who are suffering due to various burning problems.
Beginning his speech by greeting the people in Assamese for the ensuing Rongali Bihu, Modi pointed out that the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in the State took no measure for the welfare of the poor. �We have made a huge endeavour to build houses for the poor. The benefit is not reaching the poor here due to the incompetent Assam government.
�Why is it also that so many homes in Assam lack access to potable water,� Modi questioned.
Explaining his vision for development of Assam, the Prime Minister said that the BJP wants to enhance the education facilities for children and provide employment opportunities to the State�s youths.
�The all-round development of Assam is the only agenda of the BJP. I have three agendas. Development, fast development and all-round development,� he said.
He claimed that the NDA government had allocated many times more funds for the development of infrastructure in Assam than any previous governments did.
Pointing out India�s growing stature worldwide, Modi took a jibe at the Congress saying: �Some people are concerned over the warm welcome I received in Saudi Arabia and earlier in the UAE. The honour that I was conferred with in Saudi Arabia was not an honour for me; it was for the people of India, for �Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas�. But a few people are not able to digest it.�
The Prime Minister, however, made no mention of the contentious issue of infiltration, a major poll plank of the BJP-led NDA, and chose to stick to his development agenda and lack of progress in Assam.
Emphasising the need to establish a stable BJP government in the State, Modi said that this would take the State to newer heights of progress. He urged the people of Raha to turn out in large numbers and vote for a BJP government in the State.
The rally was also attended by former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaon MP Rajen Gohain, BJP candidate for Raha LAC Dimbeswar Das, Jagiroad LAC candidate Piyush Hazarika, Morigaon LAC candidate Ramakanta Dewri, Batradava LAC candidate Angurlata, Nagaon LAC candidate Rupak Sharma and Hojai LAC candidate Shiladitya Dev.
Our Barpeta Correspondent adds: Addressing another mammoth rally at Barpeta Road Stadium, the commercial hub of the district under the Sorbhog legislative constituency, Modi said that Assam still lives in the Eighteenth Century and a change of guards in Dispur has become inevitable.
Lamenting at the lack of adequate electricity in the State even after 68 years of Independence, the Prime Minister said that 40 per cent of the population lacks electricity, which is the main reason for the backwardness of the State. People cannot use computers or parents cannot wish to make their children computer savvy due to the want of sufficient power supply, he said and added that 900 villages have been provided electricity under a Central scheme during the last four months and the number will increase in the coming days.
Fifteen years is a long time to leave some signs of development, but the Tarun Gogoi-led government totally failed to do so, Modi said and added that a BJP-led government in the State will ensure electricity in Assam 365�24 within year 2022, the platinum jubilee year of India�s Independence.
During his short speech in support of his party candidates, Modi criticised the Congress government in the State for its alleged nepotism, hierarchy of power distribution and involvement in corrupt practices. He expressed his confidence that a new government will be formed in the State in the ensuing Assamese new year, saying that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has lost his smile after the first phase of polling.
Modi assured that the new government to be formed under the leadership of his party will do all possible to make Assam a peaceful and developed State in the true sense of the term.
Barpeta Road became a sea of humanity as people from far-flung areas thronged here to have a glimpse of the Prime Minister.
Sorbhog constituency is represented by sitting BJP MLA Ranjit Kumar Das, who faces stiff challenge from CPM-nominee Manoranjan Das.
