IANS Interview: Everybody remembers how Congress deceived people after Assam agitation, says Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal

Guwahati, April 23 (IANS) Former Assam Chief Minister and Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, has alleged that Congress has been responsible for the miseries of people in Assam and that the citizens of the state will not vote for a "visionless party" which pushed the people into agitation.

He also claimed that the grand old party failed to control insurgency while it was in power in both the state and the Centre.

In an interview with IANS, Union Minister Sonowal said, "Everybody remembers how Congress deceived the people after Assam Agitation, how it failed to control insurgency through a democratic process, how it killed, maimed young boys and girls for years, and how it perpetuated a system of organised corruption that ate away the due of the merit."

"We must respect the people and present them with a vision or a plan for the next five years. People won't vote for a visionless Opposition, who put Assam in check with reckless agitation," he added.

In 2014, Union Minister Sonowal was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Lakhimpur Parliamentary seat. This time in 2024, he has contested from the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat.

According to the Union Minister, people want to see the development of the country as well as the efficient implementation of the government's welfare schemes that will help them to live better lives.

"For six decades, the misrule of the Congress government deceived the people of Assam with false promises, lacking intent, inefficient and corrupt governance. Since 2014, the people of Assam, have seen first-hand how development is possible if the intent is right and how Modi ji has delivered it at their doorstep," Sonowal said, adding that "apart from delivery of the benefits of government schemes, Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh are connected by the Bogibeel bridge, an engineering marvel of the country, which remained neglected for decades under successive Congress governments."

The Union Minister believes that if there is a transformation among people, then it is the accountability that they demand from their political leaders.

"This is how the report card of a decade of good governance of the Narendra Modi government has changed the perception and how people believe in development and welfare," he added.

Union Minister Sonowal also claimed that people from the minority community will vote for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

"BJP is not a party that caters to any community and it does not matter what the background of a voter is, but it is important that benefits of welfare schemes must reach every citizen of the country. Because these are being delivered, it is clear that the people from the Muslim community are firmly behind Modi ji and his style of working that delivers good governance," he said.

"The people of the country will support the Narendra Modi government to continue the excellent work it has been doing towards improving the lives of the people, modernising and elevating the socio-economic conditions for everyone, be it a Hindu or Muslim or anyone else."

Sarbananda Sonowal was the Chief Minister of Assam during 2016-21 and later he shifted to central politics and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made Himanta Biswa Sarma the Chief Minister of the state.

Asked whether he intends to return to state politics, Union Minister Sonowal said, "I never left state politics. This is my home; this is where I grew up. My political journey started in Assam and I am currently representing the people of the state in the Rajya Sabha. This time I have contested Lok Sabha polls from Dibrugarh."

"My official capacity may vary from time to time but my commitment to the people of Dibrugarh, and the people of Assam will remain absolute," he added.

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