SILCHAR, March 4 - Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday announced a special package to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore for Barak Valley. And this came hours before the declaration of the dates for the ensuing Assembly elections in the State, while Gogoi was addressing a public meeting in the presence of AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi in Silchar organised by the district Congress committees of three districts of Barak valley.
The Election Commission of India has declared that Assam will go for elections in two phases on April 4 and 11.
Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an expert in popping up fake and illusive promises to win votes, Gogoi said the Congress party is committed to work for the development of Barak Valley.
�In 2011, I promised Rs 1,000 crore and people bestowed their blessings by voting 13 Congress candidates to power. Yet again, I seek their blessings to empower the Congress to withstand the rising intolerance in the country and the apathy of the Union Government towards development of Assam,� Gogoi said.
He claimed that there is no distinction between the people of Barak and Brahmaputra valleys and said that Assam cannot prosper if Barak valley remains underdeveloped.
The Chief Minister also announced that the government has plans to introduce an agricultural college and give special programmes for the unemployed youth and women of Barak valley. He said the government will give Rs 2 crore for development of the Gandhi Park as a mark of homage to the language martyrs. Gogoi also offered tributes to former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma who died in New Delhi earlier in the morning.
On the other hand, APCC president Anjan Dutta also offered his tributes to the language martyrs of Barak valley and said that the BJP is playing divisive politics in the name of religion to win votes. �Those trying to breach peace in the State must remember that there cannot be any politics with religion,� he said.
Former DoNER minister and in-charge of the Congress election committee Pawan Singh Ghatowar, AICC general secretary and Assam observer of the party CP Joshi, Congress national secretary Avinash Pandey, Silchar MP Susmita Dev, MLAs and ministers of Barak valley also attended the meeting. Interestingly, Social Welfare Minister Gautam Roy was absent in the meeting.
