KHUMTAI TEA ESTATE (Sivasagar Dist), March 29 � Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today addressed an election rally here, which is a part of the Mahmora Legislative Assembly Constituency. But his speech at the moderately attended meeting, was robotic and totally uninspiring.
Dr Singh read out his 22-minute speech in his typical expressionless manner, which explains why he failed to make contact with the 2000-odd audience at the Khumtai Tea Estate playground. While he took all credit for the achievements of the past ten years, he squarely blamed the BJP for all the UPA�s failures, saying the Opposition did not allow the Parliament to function in the last five years.
To the amusement of all, the Prime Minister even claimed credit for a hospital that the ONGC is sponsoring near Sivasagar town. Readers may recall this newspaper was part of a public campaign, demanding that the ONGC help build a modern hospital at Rajabari, on the Sivasagar-Dibrugarh National Highway.
While he claimed that he has served the nation in various capacities with honesty, sincerity and integrity, Dr Singh did not explain why he did not speak the truth about his residence in 1991. At that time, it was mandatory that to be a Rajya Sabha member, one had to be an ordinary resident of the state the candidate was contesting from. Dr Singh has never been an ordinary resident of Assam, though he claims to be a tenant of a former Assam chief minister.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who also spoke here today, mostly limited himself to drubbing Narendra Modi and accusing the BJP of being a �friend of the rich.� That he dwelt on Modi, is a pointer to the Modi and BJP phobia that the Congress is suffering from.
