GUWAHATI, Dec 26 - Laying foundation stones of projects worth Rs 1,176 crore, Union Home Minister Amit Shah today sounded the BJP�s poll bugle ahead of the forthcoming Assam Legislative Assembly election scheduled in April-May next year. Shah laid the foundation stone of a second medical college in Guwahati, being set up at an estimated cost of Rs 755 crore. He also ceremoniously distributed financial assistance of Rs 2.5 lakh each to 8,000 namghars under the Asom Darshan scheme, for which Rs 200 crore has been approved.
The Union Home Minister also laid the base of development and beautification project of Batadrava Than in Nagaon district. The project, worth Rs 188 crore, entails development of the than as a centre of art, culture and spiritualism while turning it into a place of tourist attraction. Further, he also ceremonially launched the construction work of nine law colleges in the State. These will come up at Diphu, Silchar, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, North Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Nalbari, Rangia and Raha for which Rs 33 crore has been earmarked.
Addressing the massive public gathering at Kumar Bhaskar Barman Kshetra, Amingaon here, Shah said, �As the election season is approaching, a section of political leaders, who identify with the separatist thought, will try to incite common people to protest. But what have we got from protest? Has protest fetched us development or created employment opportunities or developed health service infrastructure...?�
Shah said some of them are now floating their own political outfits. �They will never be able to form the government in the coming election. Instead, it is going to aid the Congress party,� he said.
Shah claimed that the BJP-led government at the Centre never kept Assam out of any of its developmental initiatives. Rather, for the Narendra Modi government, Assam has always been a priority.
�In the past four and half years, the BJP-led State government has brought tremendous development and transformation to Assam. But we have much more to offer for which we need another five-year term. We need to work to mitigate the flood issue of Assam,� Shah said.
The Union Home Minister said that some vested-interest groups have been trying to create chaos in the society and derail the development process for their politically motivated agenda.
He expressed confidence that the people of Assam would always choose BJP to lead the State towards peace, progress and development, and would remain unfazed by misinformation spread by antisocial elements.
Stating that Assam is one of the top performing states in India in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Shah said, �In a state like Assam, it is not easy to tackle a pandemic. But under the leadership of Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam has performed exceedingly well in the fight against COVID-19.�
On setting up of new law colleges, Shah opined, �I am optimistic that through these new law colleges the nation will get a number of legal experts like former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.�
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for extending their support towards development of the State at a rapid pace.
In the same event, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that it was the BJP government that made the Batadrava Than encroachment-free.
Caption
Union Home Minister Amit Shah being felicitated by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a programme held at Amingaon in Guwahati on Saturday. � Photo: Samarendra Sarma
