Priyanka Gandhi attacks BJP, PM Modi on lack of empathy for Assam

Launching a frontal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday said that Modi was sad about a tweet by a 22-year-old woman but not for the flood-ravaged people of Assam.

She said that China has been constructing a dam on Brahmaputra river but the BJP government is doing nothing to protect the river, which plays a big role in the lives and economy of the people of Assam.

Addressing three election rallies at Jorhat, Nazira and Khumtai in eastern Assam, Priyanka said that with the construction of the dam by China, much damage will be done to the Brahmaputra river.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Assam for poll campaign several times, but he did not utter a single word on the vital issue, nor did he prevent China from constructing the mega dam," she pointed out.

She said the BJP-led government had promulgated an ordinance allowing big industrialists to purchase lands in Assam without any permission.

Claiming that crime and atrocities against women are maximum in Assam and Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka said that the BJP governments in these two states are cheating the women and youth, besides duping the farmers.

"When the people of Assam are agitating against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the BJP is committed to enforce the new act. If the Congress comes to power, as part of the ‘five guarantees', CAA would be repealed," she said.

The Congress leader said that the BJP government has been selling out significant assets of the country, causing enormous loss to the economy of India. "A syndicate raj is prevailing in Assam," she said.

A day after Modi raised the toolkit issue and alleged Congress conspiracy in it at a poll rally in Chabua in Assam, the daughter of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi lamented that Modi was silent on people’s suffering during perennial floods. Last year's flooding of the Brahmaputra during the pandemic affected some 2.8 million people.

"I was listening to the Prime Minister's speech yesterday. He very seriously said that he was very sad about a development. I thought he would speak about Assam's development or how BJP worked in Assam.

"But I was shocked to hear that the PM was talking about a tweet by a 22-year-old woman. He said Congress conspired to finish the tea industry of Assam. He was also sad about Congress mistakenly putting two wrong pictures on social media," she said.

During his speech on Saturday, the prime minister apparently referred to Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg’s controversial toolkit, which she tweeted and then deleted, outlining ways in which people can participate in the farmers protest.

She also questioned Modi why he was not sad for the people affected by the flood and the anti-CAA movement, in which five youths were killed.

"Why didn’t you come to Assam when people were drowning? Why were you not sad when all the big promises by BJP were not fulfilled? Did you go to tea gardens and talk to workers about their problems?" the Congress leader asked of Modi.

Talking about the Prime Minister's famous statement of "double-engined" government in Assam, Priyanka Gandhi made fun of it saying the state currently has "two chief ministers", in an apparent reference to rumours of powerful minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal acting as rival power centres.

"The PM said you have a double-engine government but Assam has two CMs. I don't know which fuel runs which engine. The Assam government is not run in Assam... God save you!" she added.

The Congress leader also alleged that all segments of the society, including youths, farmers and tea garden workers, have been cheated by the BJP government as it did not fulfil any of its promises made five years ago.

Priyanka Gandhi also told the gatherings that people have to make their own destiny, as the BJP leaders from Delhi cannot do anything for them.

"The BJP leaders are so ignorant about Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva that they are saying that he (Sankardeva) was fighting against the infiltrations and dealing with other issues. When these people do not know about the iconic figure of Assam, how can they do good to the state," she asked.

Srimanta Sankardeva was a 15th-16th century Assamese saint, scholar, poet, playwright, social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in Assam's cultural and religious history.

Priyanka arrived in Assam on Sunday and during her two-day stay, she is scheduled to address six election rallies in eastern and central Assam and also to visit the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva at Bordowa Satra.

(With inputs from agencies)