Peace main poll plank for AGP

GUWAHATI, August 19: Restoration of peace and all-round development of the state will be the main poll planks of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. This was announced by chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who is also the president of the AGP. Mahanta said implementation of the Assam Accord would also be one of the main issues to be raised by the AGP. The Congress has been alleging that the AGP-led alliance government in the state has failed to provide security to the life and property of the people. It has also accused the state government of failing to take up development activities. Mahanta today reacted to the allegation and claimed that the law-and-order situation in the state had improved since the day the present government assumed office. He also said that due to acts of insurgents, development activities taken up by the state government did not get prominence in the media. Hitting out at the Congress, Mahanta said that during its 50-year rule, the Congress had divided Assamese society. He alleged that in the 1998 Lok Sabha polls, 10 Congressmen were elected to the Lok Sabha as the party took the help of extremists but the Congress MPs failed to raise the issues concerning the state on the floor of the Parliament. Mahanta admitted that the AGP was not able to infiltrate the tea tribes, considered to be the traditional votebank of the Congress. He said that the management of the tea gardens always favoured a national party for their own benefits and it was difficult for regional parties to get the support of the tea community. However, he said of late the AGP had been able to get the support of a section of the tea tribes. The AGP is likely to finalise the list of its candidates for the Lok Sabha polls on August 21.