GUWAHATI:
President of the Assam Trinamool Congress (ATC) party, Ripun Bora, on May 7, lashed out at Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for putting the state in debt and further slammed it for celebrating the completion of one year in the state alleging that it didn’t achieve anything in that period.
Addressing the press at Gauri Sadan, Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati, Bora said that under the BJP rule, Assam has taken a loan of Rs 1,24,000 crore, and now the common people will have to bear the brunt of an economic crisis.
“A year has passed since Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed office as the chief minister of the state. During this period, the government has failed to earn revenue. The state is totally dependent on Central assistance. Surprisingly, the chief minister has also failed to get the Central funds the state has to receive,” he said.
The debt burden of the state was Rs 35,000 crore till 2016. But it has gone up to Rs 1.04 lakh crore in the last one-year period. Of late, the state has borrowed another amount of Rs 16,000 crore. Now the total debt burden of the state has gone up to Rs 1.24 lakh crore, he claimed.
“Under the present government, the debt burden on each person is Rs 37,015. A baby is born in the state with a debt burden of Rs 37,015 on its head. So, there is nothing to celebrate one-year completion of the government,” he stated.
He also spoke about Assam losing Rs 9,000 crore every year after the abolition of the special category status by the Centre in 2015.
“The state has lost Rs 9,000 crore per year since 2015 due to abolition of special category status by the Centre. The Central government has no plan to compensate the state,” he added.
Bora said that the state is yet to receive Rs 2,400 crore under various flood management schemes. No National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) grant was released to the state in 2014.
“The government should inform the people about the amount it’s borrowed under State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) head and what works have been done for it,” he said.
Assam has not received the compensation amount according to the decision of the GST Council, he claimed.
“The BJP government under Sarma has recorded the lowest per capita income in the entire country. Tripura has a better per capita income compared to Assam. And it has happened due to mismanagement and inefficiency of the government. The government has failed in every aspect and they are celebrating. What is there to celebrate?” Bora asked.
On May 10, the BJP government will be celebrating the completion of one year in Assam. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to attend the programme.