Citizenship Amendment Bill still a big issue: Gaurav Gogoi

I dispute the assumption that the Citizenship (Amendment)Bill is no longer an issue. It has become more of an issue after the alliance of the AGP and the BJP. These two parties, just two months ago, had fought bitterly against each other in the Panchayat elections. By coming together,especially considering the AGP’s Assamese voter base, there is a feeling amongst them of being betrayed by the BJP. The voters of the AGP were mobilised and galvanised against the Bill and today, even though their leaders have aligned with the BJP, the voters are with us. In the Rajya Sabha, the Congress opposed the passing of the Bill. And we have opposed it in the manifesto too.So, the AGP leaders might not be with the people, but their voters are with us.In fact, even a few the BJP supporters are unhappy with this alliance and have been talking to Congress workers on the ground.

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta is publicly against the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill and being a former Chief Minister, he is also saying that support should not be given to those who are in favour of the Bill. This is one of the issues amidst other economic issues.

The AGP has aligned with the BJP after bitterly opposing them. So, these mixed signals were emanating even then. Even during the Panchayat elections, I said that this was all a drama and that they have not really separated. Three AGP leaders had supposedly put in their papers after the BJP’s stand on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, but their resignations were not accepted. I had said that they would join the BJP soon and this is what happened. There is a section of the AGP leaders who are acting at the behest of the BJP. They want to finish the AGP from within and transfer their voter base to the BJP. They are purposefully and willingly sabotaging the party from within. So, we didn’t try to align with them as they were not being honest.

The party has diminished significantly because of its own decisions. This is a question that must be answered by their leadership. Evenin the Panchayat elections, they performed poorly even in the region from where they have a sitting MLA. So, my sense is that they are consolidating the pockets they are in so that they can use their resources in constituencies where they are prominent. They may not have put candidates, but we have candidates even in regions where their candidates are.

The key issues going into this election are the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill and economic issues. The cost of living of the poor has been rising; the price of kerosene, petrol and diesel have risen; GST has made things harder and, at the same time, incomes, including farmers’ earnings, are stagnant. The wages of those in the informal labour sector has not increased and no opportunities are being created. This is directly linked to the failed economic policies of the BJP in the state and at the Centre. It is in this context that the minimum income guarantee scheme of the Congress (NYAY) was announced. It will relieve the financial burden Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inflicted on the poor. This is a targeted scheme and there is tremendous acceptance of the same on the ground. In these five years, Prime Minister Modi has not delivered what he had promised.

We are clear that it is a register of Indian citizens and it should include all Indian citizens. But, due to its tardy implementation by the BJP, many indigenous citizens have not been included. Many Gorkha community people have been excluded, many who trace their origins to Rajasthan, UP, Bihar are not on the NRC. Many people who trace their origins to West Bengal are not on the list. It has been such a shoddy implementation. It doesn’t seem the government is serious about implementation of the NRC. When the PM says that no genuine citizen will be excluded, it means that he is acknowledging that they haven’t implemented it well.

It is unfortunate that the BJP, in this last-ditch effort to win this election, has resorted to polarisation. Remember in 2014, they came topower on the plank of development. PM Modi declared himself as the‘Vikaspurush’ and the key slogan was ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. Now, it is no longer that; it is simply ‘Kuch ke saath, kuchke vikas’. So, this shows the failure of their economic policies. The Congress will remind the voters that religion is meant to unite us, not divide people. And right now, unemployment,poverty and high cost of living are the big issues plaguing the state and the nation. This cuts across all caste and communities. Poverty does not ask which religion you belong to.

They claim they have bettered the infrastructure. Take a look at the highways they have built. They are riddled with potholes. Travel on the Asian Highway No. 1, from Golaghat onwards and you’ll see it. This was meant to be an international highway and a four-lane one which the BJP has been tom-toming about. This has been progressing at snail’s pace. Instead, they are inaugurating what the Congress built, whether it is the Boghibeel Bridge, the Silchar Lumding Bridge or even the Dhola-Sadiya Bridge. So, people are able to see through the rhetoric of the Prime Minister and the government.

The people know that the same houses which were being built as a part of Indira Awas Yojana are now being built under the PM Awas Yojana,electrification which was done as part of the Rajiv Gandhi Vidyut Yojana is now under PM Saubhagya Scheme. There is a level of awareness.

Everyone remembers the promises the BJP made, including hiking the wages of tea garden workers to Rs 350 a day. That also has not been fulfilled. In fact, it has now come out that the state government has opposed implementation of the same. The Congress’s minimum income guarantee scheme will help them too.

We should look at this in terms of what Congress governments have done and what the BJP has done. The Congress ensured schools, roads and hospitals for the tea-garden communities. What has the BJP done new? Recently,there was a hooch tragedy in Golaghat and that is a result of the BJP’s policies. The BJP allowed the opening of several of these liquor shops randomly and even in the vicinity of schools. The Congress had certain policies in place to restrict their distribution and also restricted their timings and locations.But, this government maximised the hours they can be open and increased the number of vends too.

This election is not about regional parties but about the divisive policies followed by the Prime Minister, the BJP and the RSS. Just look at the statement made by Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam’s PWD, Health and Finance Minister. So, this election would be a referendum against the divisive policies of the BJP and for the hope that India wants to be united in diversity.

I think it is a powerful message that is being sent. For me,that means that the future Prime Minister of India is representing both North and South India. The southern states contribute greatly to the development indicators of the country.

The BJP believes in a homogenous idea and it is the Nagpur-based RSS’ ideology of India. The Congress believes in the collective spirit of India where each region has its unique set of values and cultural identity.