GUWAHATI, July 23 - Accusing the Congress party of trying to gain political mileage out of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing massive floods, the ruling BJP today called upon all political parties and non-political organisations to join hands with government during this crucial period when the State is facing the twin challenges.
�At a time when all the ministers, MPs and MLAs of the BJP are working in the ground and reaching out to the flood-affected masses and the State machinery is working round the clock to provide relief, the Congress party is spreading certain falsehood to divert the attention of the citizens and to gain publicity,� State BJP chief spokesperson Rupam Goswami said at a press conference.
He said that the Congress, which ruled Assam for decades, never bothered to address the problem of erosion.
�And now they (Congress) are shedding crocodile�s tears. Due to the strong stand taken by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, river erosion has now been included in the list of natural calamities by the Centre. The Congress party, which never bothered to do anything to tackle Assam�s flood and erosion problems since Independence, has no moral right to question us. The NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown its commitment to address these problems as is evident from the formation of the North East Water Management Authority,� Goswami said.
The BJP leader added that the Centre had already declared immediate release of Rs 346 crore to the Assam government as the first instalment under the Flood Management Programme (FMP). He said adequate relief supplies have been provided to flood-affected people of the State.
Goswami also claimed that the Centre�s assistance to Assam under the Calamity Relief Funds (CRF) and National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) has been higher during the NDA government compared to what it was during the previous UPA dispensation.
