GUWAHATI, Sept 28 - With a pledge of fulfilling regional goals under a national political party, former All Assam Students� Union president Shankar Prasad Roy and general secretary Tapan Gogoi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party today.
The former students� leaders, vocal supporters of rights of indigenous people and protection of the State�s land and resources, today acknowledged that �development of Assam is only possible under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,� in the function held to welcome the 100 new entrants into the BJP.
A number of those who took the party membership today included former students� leaders, indigenous group representatives and also former members of the Asom Gana Parishad.
Shankar Prasad Roy, while speaking on the occasion, said that he chose BJP over the Congress and the AGP with a faith that it would bring the much-needed change in the lives of the people of Assam. �I trust the honesty of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. People of Assam too need a corruption-free Assam,� he said. Tapan Gogoi reiterated that whatever he learnt from AASU would help him in carrying forward the cause of the State.
BJP MP Bijoya Chakravarty, while welcoming the new entrants said that the party has got new strength from the young brigade of activist leaders.
Accusing the Congress of instigating unrest in the State for deriving political mileage Mahendra Singh, party's in charge of Assam said that the Congress has ruled the country with policies of appeasement and riots.
�In Assam alone, there have been 40,092 riots during the Congress rule. A Congress-free Assam is now desired by one and all,� he said.
Former State Minister and another new entrant to the BJP, Himanta Biswa Sarma also took a dig at Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, saying that his recent sops to woo voters would come from taxpayers' money and the beneficiaries should be the real eligible people and not those selected by the Congress party.
He further added that those who question the regional character of the BJP must know that Assam's regionalism and Indian nationalism are not separate but two interdependent entities.
State president of the BJP Siddhartha Bhattacharyya also welcomed the new members.
Former students' leaders Ashok Bharali, Ajay Hazarika, Arup Borpujari, Pradeep Barman, Mrinal Kanti Medhi, former Superintendent of Police Abdul Quddus, former vice president of Assam Koch Rajbonshi Students Union, Biswajit Singha among other joined the BJP today.
