GUWAHATI, Oct 31 � The All Assam Students� Union (AASU) today accused the Congress representatives of misleading and confusing the people with their different and changing versions on the issue of big dams and said that the developments exposed the dithering stand of the Congress party as well as the Government on a matter of such vital public importance.
In a statement, the AASU said that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, APCC president Bhubanewar Kalita, Power Minister Pradyut Bardoloi, and Union Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh all had different and inconsistent stands on the issue, while Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had remained conspicuous by his silence.
�The developments have laid bare the hollowness and insincerity of the Congress party as well as the Congress Government. The future of the State cannot be secure in the hands of such weak representatives,� the AASU said.
Questioning whether those speaking in favour of the Government were �good experts� and those voicing their concern were �bad experts�, the students� body said that the fact that the State Government was casting apprehensions over the genuineness of the recommendations of the expert committee constituted by itself to study the downstream impact of the mega dams, including the Lower Subansiri hydel project.
Pointing out that the NHPC had started work on the Lower Subansiri project without going for a proper study on the possible adverse fallouts, the AASU said that if the State Government indeed wanted experts� opinion, why it was not ready to honour the expert committee recommendations.
Asking the State Government to make public the details of the proposed experts committee comprising scientists from Russia and Switzerland, the AASU said that the Government must kept in abeyance work on river dams in the greater interest of the State and its people pending study by any other expert group.
The AASU said that it would continue with its agitation against big dams. �In Dhemaji district, our ongoing agitation together with the Mising Students� Union will continue till November 9,� it said.
