Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday launched a scathing attack against Congress party, particularly against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and said that both conspired to break Gujarat’s economy by debarring oil companies to pay royalty to State on the well head price determined by the actual price of equivalent crude oil prevailing in the international market.
Sarma said this on Monday while addressing a conference after the first day of the Budget Session of the Assam legislative Assembly and said due to the conspiracy hatched by the duo, oil producing Assam also suffered.
“Singh and Gogoi colluded to break the Gujarat economy as the State was ruled by the BJP and Narendra Modi was Chief Minister in 2008. The Congress could not defeat Modi in Gujarat so they wanted to cripple the State economically, however, it did not happen. Gujarat moved court and court ordered payment of royalty at pre-discounted price with effect from February 1, 2014,” Sarma said.
“This, however, affected oil producing State like Assam. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had often used the issue of oil royalty to criticise the BJP Government at the Centre since BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014. Gogoi remained silent on the issue since 2008. However, when the BJP Government came to power he shouting that Modiji has done this injustice to Assam,” he said.
“I would have moved motion in the House today to censor him. However, due to extreme personal regard for Dr Singh, I am refraining myself from doing this,” he said adding that Manmohan Singh did this to Assam, the state which have elected him several times to Rajya Sabha.
Gogoi also never discussed the issue in the state cabinet, Sarma said. It may be mentioned here that Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Friday last examined the matter of onshore royalty at pre-discounted prices on the interim decision of the Supreme Court dated February 13, 2014 and it was decided that ONGC limited and Oil India limited would pay royalty to all similarly placed crude oil producing States, including Assam at pre-discounted prices with effect from February 1, 2014.