GUWAHATI, May 20 – With Dr Manmohan Singh, who has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Assam thrice all set to take over as the Prime Minister tomorrow, the State unit of the Congress and the Assam Government are in an upbeat mood hoping that the State would get special attention from the new Prime Minister. On the other hand, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is of the view that there was nothing to be elated over the election of Dr Singh as the Prime Minister.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, the Education Minister Pankaj Bora, who is also the State Government spokesman, said that Assam and the other parts of the North Eastern region can hope for special attention from Dr Singh. He said that in his first Press conference after meeting the President, Dr Singh promised to work for economic development of the backward areas and development of the agriculture sector. As the North-east is an economically backward area, it can hope for special attention from the new Prime Minister, he added.
Bora said that Dr Singh is well versed with the ethos of the region and the problems faced by the North-east and it would be easier for him to tackle the problems. He said that the National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre had deprived the North-east in all fronts and with Dr Singh becoming the Prime Minister, the region can now look up to some special attention. He asserted that the Congress always wanted rapid development of the region and said that the State Government would continue its demand for a special economic development package for the State. Dr Singh contributed a lot for the State as a Member of Parliament and the NEDFi came up when he was the Finance Minister of the country, he pointed out. The State Education Minister also said that the Congress president proved her stature to the entire world by sacrificing the post of Prime Minister when the entire nation wanted her to take over the post.
Meanwhile, the AGP is of the view that there was nothing to be elated over the appointment of Dr Singh as the Prime Minister. AGP president Brindaban Goswami said that Dr Singh is a prominent economist and was elected to the Upper House thrice from Assam. But he is leading a Government headed by Congress and the party was never interested in the socio-economic development of Assam. He pointed out that solution of the problems of Assam by the Congress can never be expected. “But we shall keep a close watch on the steps taken by Dr Sinng on the issues like implementation of the Assam Accord, floods and erosion, insurgency, unemployment etc,” he added.
The AGP vice president Zoii Nath Sarma , on the other hand, said, “ by shaving his hair, the Minister of State for Rural Development Ripun Bora proved that he is opposed to election of Dr Singh, a Rajya Sabha member from Assam, as the Prime Minister of the country, which is very unfortunate.” The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has accepted Dr Singh with a positive note. AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said that the organisation had opposed the election of Dr Singh to the Rajya Sabha from Assam as he is not an indigenous person of the State. “But we must admit the fact that Dr Singh used his MP’s local area development fund all throughout the State visibly and perfectly. He helped educational institutions all over the state particularly the vernacular medium schools to develop their infrastructure and worked for development of the historical monuments,” he said.
Bhattacharya hoped that Dr Singh would give stress on the solution of the problems faced by the students and youths, particularly the problem of unemployment and formulate a special employment package for the youths of the region. He also hoped that Dr Singh would take effective steps for the solution of the burning problems of Assam like insurgency, floods, infiltration of foreigners etc.