Union Minister Anurag Thakur
Congress and other opposition parties in Assam are using Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as "propaganda" to mislead the people in the polls but they have failed to peddle lies, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Sunday.
The "propaganda that CAA is against the rights of the Assamese has fallen flat" as the people have totally ignored it in the ongoing assembly elections, Thakur told PTI in an interview.
"The Congress and other opposition parties made a big hue and cry over CAA and tried to create a narrative in the polls that the Act is against the rights of the people 'parantu jhooth ke pao nahi hote (a lie has no legs to stand upon)," he said.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act aims to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who entered India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, having fled religious persecution in their countries.
The people of Assam know that the NDA government will not take any step which is against their interest, the Union Minister for state for Finance and Corporate Affairs added.
The opposition Congress, as part of its 'Five Guarantee' campaign during the elections, has promised that the CAA will not be implemented in the state and steps will be taken not to ratify it in the assembly, if the party is voted to power.
Attacking the Congress-AIUDF alliance in the state, the Union minister said that it exposes the "policy of appeasement for the sake of vote-bank politics pursued by the Congress always".
The Congress has stooped so low in its quest for power that its leader Rahul Gandhi describes a person like AIUDF Chief Badruddin Ajmal as the identity of Assam.
"Can people of the state ever accept this?" Thakur asked.
"Congress ghuspetiyo ke peeth par baith kar satta pe aana chahte hain aur NDA ghuspetiyo ko rokne (Congress wants to ride to power on the back of infiltrators but the NDA wants to stop infiltrators)," he said.
Congress represents 'corruption and communalism' whereas NDA symbolizes 'good governance and development', he asserted.
During the last five years, the double-engine government of NDA at the centre and the Sarbananda Sonowal led government in the state have ensured the delivery of schemes and its benefits to the targeted beneficiaries, he said.
The last five years has taken Assam to new heights with a transparent government which has maintained accountability and good governance, he said.
Comparing the previous Congress governments with that of the BJP, the Union minister said that former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who represented the state for 10 years, did not visit the state even ten times during his tenure, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the state 35 times in the last six years.
Besides, the former had allocated only Rs 80,000 crore in ten years while Rs 1,60,000 crore has been allocated in five years by the Modi government, he said.
This makes it amply clear that NDA is very serious about ensuring the development of Assam and it has taken several initiatives to ensure this during its tenure.
People know this and they will bring NDA back to power for the second consecutive term so that the process of development continues, he said.
This continuity is very important so that development goes on and Assam is transformed as one of the top five states in the country, he added.
"The continuity of the NDA government is also important to check the influx of illegal migrants in the state and in the next five years, we will ensure that the pending work of sealing borders in completed," he said.
The former president of the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) said that during his tenure in the cricket body, Assam Cricket Associations stadium in Guwahati was completed and he had ensured that IPL and international matches are allotted to the state.
"Assam has huge potential among youths to take up sports and we are keen to develop the state as a sports hub", he said.
Youths know that it is the NDA government that recognize their potential and has created immense opportunities for them which they must avail and make the state one of the foremost in the country.
Assam has the best connectivity and infrastructure in the region and is the 'Gateway to the North East' with the NDA committed to take its potential to greater heights.
He asserted that the NDA's initiatives to make Assam free from floods, corruption, blockade, violence and infiltration have convinced people that there is no alternative to this government in the state.
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