GUWAHATI, April 7 � Seeking to refute recent charges levelled by BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi not only questioned his stature as a national leader, but said that BJP while in power did nothing to further the interest of the State. In a press conference held in the city today, Gogoi described Gadkari as a leader who was out of sync with reality, heading a party which held little appeal for the people of Assam.
Gogoi especially resented Gadkari�s remarks that he was corrupt, an allegation he said was �baseless and absolutely untrue.� He buttressed this by stating that no opposition leader, including senior leaders like Atal Behari Vajpayee and LK Advani had ever made such insinuations.
Apparently stung by Gadkari�s reported comments that Assam remained underdeveloped under Gogoi�s leadership, he asked what the BJP-led NDA had provided the State while it was in power at the Centre. �I myself had written letters demanding support to various projects, which never came,� Gogoi claimed.
On Gadkari�s views on illegal migration from Bangladesh changing the demography of Assam, Gogoi said, �Illegal migrants become an issue for the BJP only before an election,� and added that even while the AGP was in power in Dispur and the NDA in Delhi, the two partners did precious little to stop illegal migration.
The Chief Minister revealed that he had repeatedly asked the then Home Minister LK Advani to take steps such as increasing border outposts, erect strong fences, and arrange for river posts on the Assam-Bangladesh border, all of which never materialised. On the contrary, it was when his party returned to power that the borders became more protected.
Upping the ante, Gogoi said that a comparison could be made what Assam had acquired during the time his party was in power and the period under NDA and AGP rule. �It was during our tenure that we could have an NID, an NIFT, a world class university�and improvements in the tea industry,� he noted.
Not sparing the AGP and the AUDF, Gogoi said that those were minor players who were willing to make compromises. Like the BJP, the AUDF is, in his view, a believer in divisive politics. As for the AGP, he said that the party would have to �go begging� to BJP leaders before the next elections.
Responding to a question on operations against militant groups like the ULFA, Gogoi said that the alert against them will not be lowered. He expressed his unwillingness to stop operations against the ULFA, reasoning that there were intelligence reports suggesting the group was trying to make fresh recruitments.
He, however, was ambiguous while referring to the issue of jailed ULFA leaders being allowed to visit their homes during Bihu. He said that his government would treat the issue sympathetically.
Gogoi denied any knowledge of Chinese hacking into Indian computers and accessing data on Maoist activities, as reported in the media. He said that he was not in the know of things, but at lower levels such information could be shared between Dispur and New Delhi.
