Modi kicks off Assam campaign, says fight not with Gogoi but poverty

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Mar 26, 2016: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday began the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign in Assam with a jam packed schedules of four rallies today in Tinsukia, Majuli, Bihpuria, Bokakhat and a meeting with locals at Jorhat.

He will become the first Prime Minister to visit Majuli, an island located in between river Brahmaputra and Lohit.
At the rally in Tinsukia, Modi said his fight is not against Tarun Gogoi but against poverty and corruption.

“Our motive is to make ‘Tinsukia’ ‘Sukhiya’ in the true sense of the word,” said Modi.

Addressing the locals, Modi said “You gave 60 years to Congress expecting good things, I ask nothing but 5 years from you.”

Here are the highlights from his speech:

• Gogoi says his fight is with me, but my fight is not against Gogoi but poverty and destruction of Assam

• When we got independence, Assam was in the list of top 5 developed states. Now, it is in the list of the worst

•Assam will get a young CM in Sarbanand Sonowal and Assam will scale new heights of progress

•I want your blessings, to take Assam to new heights

• Congress misrule in Assam is evident from lack of potable water despite possessing huge water resources

• The day is not far when children in India will be taught A for Assam

• BJP and allies will together bail out Assam from poverty, corruption, under development

• Assam’s tea energises Indians, but not the workers who make it

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to address rallies at Rangapara and Karimganj on March 27, the release added.

BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal is contesting from Majuli assembly constituency.

Assam will vote in two phases on April 4 and 11.

The BJP is contesting in 91 of 126 assembly constituencies of the state leaving 24 seats for Asom Gana Parishad and rest for Bodo People’s Front and other smaller parties.

Earlier, releasing his party’s ‘vision document’ for the upcoming Assam Assembly polls, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted that the BJP-led alliance will have a landslide victory and uproot the failed Congress government from the state.

“There is a desire for a change which is sweeping the state. People of Assam are tired of slogans and they want development. The youth here are craving for growth. The core strength of our alliance is the youth here and the youth is leading that campaign for a change,” Jaitley told the media.

The Finance Minister further trained his guns on the grand old party, saying the Congress has in the past several years ‘encouraged’ infiltration and failed to act on it as they wanted to turn it into a vote bank for themselves.

“Being a border state and a pivotal north east state, this vision document aims at providing security and it strongly emphasises on that,” Jaitley said.