Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday slammed the developmental agenda of the Congress for the North-East and said that the Prime Minister, who is an MP from Assam for last 24 years, has failed to set up even a single major industry in the State.
“Manmohan Singh is a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam since 1991. While he has been a Union Finance Minister for five years, he has been the country’s Prime Minister for last 10 years. However, not even a single major industry was established in Assam in last 10 years,” Prasad said while addressing the media here.
Terming it as a step-motherly attitude by the Prime Minister towards the constituency that has been electing him to the Upper House for last 24 years, Prasad said that no major power project had been set up in the State despite the fact that the State has been reeling under power shortage.
He also trained his guns against Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and said, “The Assam Chief Minister often talks about Gujarat model of development. While Gogoi is the Chief Minister of Assam for last 12 years, Modi has been the Chief Minister for Gujarat for last 12 years. Modi has provided 24,000 villages of Gujarat with continuous power supply while the power scenario is pathetic here,” he said adding that Gujarat also has lowest unemployment rate in the country.
He questioned AICC chairperson Sonia Gandhi as to why the Assam Government has failed to implement the Assam Accord, which was signed by her husband Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.
“This is important as Tarun Gogoi often appreciates Madam Soniaji. One must know how many offices and institutes have been opened in Rae Bareli and in Assam in last 10 years,” he said.
“The BJP’s manifesto has a chapter for the North-East and we are going to take measures to accelerate the pace of development in the region if our Government comes to power,” he said adding that the BJP is also going to make all the grants for the Northeastern States non-lapsable.
“The BJP is fighting this election on developmental agenda. Our issues are price rise of essential commodities, infrastructure development to name a few. The Congress has no answer for the price rise. So they are intentionally trying to polarise this election by playing the secular and communal card,” said Prasad while adding that the communal and secular cheque is an expired one.