M A I N   N E W S

Only Cong can provide stable govt in Assam: PM

Officials check a voting machine in Guwahati on Sunday ahead of voting on Monday. — Reuters photo

Tezpur, April 2
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today reiterated that only the Congress could provide a stable government in Assam as the Opposition was divided into various camps.

He was addressing election rallies at Dongkamokam in Karbi Anglong district and Tezpur on the final day of his two-day visit to his adopted home state, making stability and development his main poll agenda.

At Dongkamokam, the Prime Minister assured that all people affected in the Karbi Anglong violence from September 29 to mid-December would be compensated.

He promised financial assistance to the victims and their families affected in the ethnic violence that left 103 dead and over 75,000 refugees in the hills district.

Dr Manmohan Singh said his party was committed to the overall development of the district. He said, “We will work for the rapid development of Karbi Anglong. I assure you that the Congress will provide all assistance to the Karbi Anglong Autonomous District Council.”

The Prime Minister, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Assam, maintained that the Congress alone could provide a stable government in the state.

He said, “Only the Congress can give Assam a stable government. The opposition in the state is divided, they do not have unity among themselves.”

He assured of taking forward the various developmental activities started by the Congress if voted back to power.

Addressing a rally at Nehru Maidan in Tezpur in Sonitpur district, the Prime Minister said the Congress would lay special emphasis on agriculture, education and health sectors in the state.

He said his government had taken up various developmental schemes and the purview of these would be increased to touch all areas within the next five years.

Reiterating that the Congress had done much for Assam in the past, Dr Manmohan Singh said the Centre and Assam Governments would jointly work for the growth of the tea industry of the state if the party retained power in Dispur.

He said attractive employment packages would be initiated for the youth of the state and appealed to them to shun violence, which affected not only Assam but the entire North-East.

Accepting that infiltration was a major problem in the state, he assured that the Congress would take steps to curtail it. He added that fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border was progressing at a satisfactory pace.

Saying that Ms Sonia Gandhi had sent him to the state to “strengthen” the party under Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s leadership. He called on the people to vote for the Congress to ensure the steady momentum of progress.

He said the Opposition, Asom Gana Parishad, had failed to achieve anything remarkable for the state during its tenures.

Mr Tarun Gogoi, also present in the rally, appealed to the people to vote for the Congress to ensure a stable government in the state. — UNI

Mahajan invites EC wrath

New Delhi, April 2
The Election Commission (EC) today directed the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Assam to file a case against senior BJP leader Pramod Mahajan and some others for addressing a press conference this morning in the poll-bound state after the campaign period came to an end yesterday.