GUWAHATI, May 31 - The Congress will keep a close watch on whether the new Government keeps the promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led alliance before the polls. This was disclosed by Debabrata Saikia, who is all set to become the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly after his election as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Saikia said that his party would play the role of constructive Opposition and keep a close watch on the performance of the Government. �In the last Assembly, there were public criticism that the Opposition had failed to play its desired role and in fact, it was the media, which played the role of the Opposition. But the situation will now change and the Congress Legislature Party would play the role of a strong opposition,� he added.
Saikia pointed out that the BJP-led Government came to power with a number of promises and the people voted the alliance to power because of such promises. The ACLP would keep a close watch on whether the promises are kept. If the Government fails to keep the promises, the Congress would raise the issues strongly, he said.
The ACLP leader pointed out that the major issues concerning the people of Assam remain the same and the Congress Government, despite its best efforts, could not solve some of the major problems. Asserting that flood and erosion should be treated as national problems, he said that during the tenure of the previous Government, even Assembly resolutions were passed on the issue. The Congress will now help the present Government to put pressure on the Centre to declare flood and erosion as national problems, he said.
Saikia admitted that there are a number of persons in the Congress legislature party, who are much senior to him. But he said that all the legislators would work as a team and he would have no problem in functioning as the leaders of the legislature party. He expressed the view that he might have been selected as the leader of the ACLP as per the decision of the Congress to give youths a bigger role to play. Even the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had time and again stressed the need for giving more work to youths, he said.
Saikia admitted that many people would want him to carry forward the legacy of his father Late Hiteswar Saikia, who became the Chief Minister of the State twice. But at the same time, he said that he and his father are two different persons and their works should not be compared.
