SILCHAR, Sept 14 � Expressing a strong reaction against Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi�s decision to withdraw the circular (PLC/ 14/2011/39 dated November 30, 2013) regarding the use of Assamese as the official language in the Barak Valley, BJP State spokesperson Dr Rajdeep Roy on Friday said that the Chief Minister was following the colonial �divide-and-rule policy.�
Speaking to reporters, Dr Roy questioned the approval granted by the UPA Government to the decision taken by the State Government. �Tarun Gogoi has blatantly dishonoured the law of the land when he issued the circular on November 30, 2013. He must seek apology from the people of the Barak Valley,� he maintained.
The BJP spokesperson said that Gogoi must be reminded that it was the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee which took the decision to impose the Assamese language in the then undivided Assam, leading to the birth of States like Meghalaya and Mizoram.
Dr Roy alleged that it is due to the faulty policies of the Congress that Assam stands divided on the basis of language today. He added that the Assam Official Language Act, passed in 1960, saw massive protests and 11 youths laid down their lives for the cause of the Bengali language. But the State Government is yet to give recognition to these martyrs.
Training his gun on the North Karimganj MLA, Kamalaksha Dey Purkayastha, Roy asked where was the MLA when the Assembly Speaker had made a statement that �Assam is a dumping ground of Bengalis.�
