Guwahati, Dec 27 (IANS): A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bogibeel bridge, the opposition Congress in Assam has slammed the ruling party for not inviting former prime ministers H. D. Deve Gowda and Dr Manmohan Singh, who had played prominent roles for the construction of the bridge.
Assam's leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia on Wednesday said that the Prime Minister and the BJP as a whole lack political culture.
"Bogibeel Bridge project was a part of the Assam Accord in 1985 and was sanctioned in the year 1997-98. The foundation stone of the project was laid by former PM Gowda on January 22, 1997 and work commencement of the project took place under the then Prime Minister Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on April 21, 2002.
"In 2007, Dr Singh declared the bridge as a national project and arrangement was made for the requisite funds," said Saikia, while adding that neither Gowda nor Singh was invited to participate in the inauguration programme.
It may be mentioned here that three-time former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who is an elected representative of the current Assam assembly, and Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia also did not receive any invitation for the programme.
"The BJP government is using government events for political propaganda," Saikia said while interacting with the media on Wednesday.
"The Prime Minister had in 2014 announced that he will revive Nagaon and Panchagram Paper Mills. The Rs. 1900 crore revival package is still awaiting a nod from the Prime Minister's office. We want to know what happened to that promise. The BJP-led government before 2014 polls promised to give Schedule Tribe (ST) status to six communities. However, nothing happened in this regard," said Saikia.
Senior Congress leader and former minister Pradyut Bordoloi pointed out that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for Jorhat-Majuli bridge in 2015.
"However the detailed project report (DPR) for the project is yet to be prepared," he said while questioning the intent of the BJP.
"NTPC's 750 MW Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BTPS) and Assam gas cracker project are major contributions of Dr Singh. Can the BJP name any such signature project which it has taken up during its tenure?" Bordoloi asked.