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NDA govt re-packaging UPA schemes: Pradyut

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 5 � Accusing the BJP-led NDA regime at the Centre of �re-packaging� schemes and projects made by the earlier UPA dispensation, senior Congress leader and MLA Pradyut Bordoloi today said that withdrawal of Special Category State status to Assam and the North Eastern States and scrapping of the 90-10 loan-grant system will be a historical blunder on the part of the present government in New Delhi.

Bordoloi also called upon Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Sarbananda Sonowal to raise their voices in the interest of the North East and said that �history will not forgive them if they fail to do so�.

Speaking to reporters here today, Bordoloi delivered a stinging criticism of the two Central ministers over their comments made during a joint press meet here earlier this week.

He said that their announcements regarding Rs 5,000-crore plan to develop IT and Communication in the North East and Rs 5,111.33 crore for the power sector were projects formulated during the erstwhile UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh.

�It is good that they spoke about the schemes. But way back in 2003, the UPA government had talked of perspective plan for the IT sector in the North East� For the power sector, the Rs 5,111.33 crore project will be funded by the World Bank. In 2010, the Assam government has given a presentation to the Union Power Minister and the Union Finance Ministry had taken the lead and overseen the presentation and negotiations. The announcement for the project was made in 2014,� Bordoloi said.

He said that withdrawal of the Special Category State status and of the 90-10 funding pattern will now increase the loan burden of such externally-funded projects for the State government.

�What the two Union ministers did was nothing but repackaging old schemes. They refrained from stating that funding for the power project will come from the World Bank. They were mum on issues like withdrawal of Special Category State status for the North East, on suspension of NEIIPP and other relevant issues,� Bordoloi said.

He accused the Centre of sacrificing the interest of Arunachal Pradesh before China.

�Why is Arunachal Pradesh not part of the power project. Rijiju should have stated the reasons. It is because the World Bank said that Arunachal Pradesh is a disputed territory. The main thing is that China has not allowed World Bank projects to be implemented in Arunachal Pradesh. Modi went to China but during his talks with the Chinese leadership he refrained from raising the issue of Arunachal Pradesh. Is Arunachal not a part of India? He did not raise the issue of big dams being constructed by the Chinese in the upstream of Brahmaputra, which will affect the North East. So why are nationalists like Rijiju and Sonowal mum of such matters? They will have to explain it to the people of the North East,� Bordoloi said.

Bordoloi called upon all political parties and non-political organizations in the State to raise their voices against the Centre�s attitude.

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