GUWAHATI, Sept 4 - Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia has expressed concern over reports that the State government is trying to sabotage the 20th edition of the North East Book Fair, which is scheduled to be held at the Assam Engineering Institute field, Chandmari here, from November 9 to 20.
In a statement, Saikia said the All Assam Publishers and Booksellers Association, the organiser of the book fair, had paid for and booked the venue in July this year.
�However, the Secretary of the Assam Publication Board wrote to the administrators of the field in August and booked the venue for a Children�s Book Fair coinciding with the North East Book Fair. It has further alleged that the government has booked the Chandmari Field for the entire duration of December this year and January next year with a view to scuttling the 20-year-old book fair. This sort of conspiracy by the government to sabotage a successful and popular book fair is totally unacceptable,� he said.
Saikia has written to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in this connection today and requested him to ensure that the North East Book Fair is held on time and without any problem.