 "Cong pursuing same 'divisive politics' that led to Partition: Adityanath")
Senior BJP leader Yogi Adityanath Tuesday accused the oppositon Congress of indulging in "divisive politics" that led to the Partition of the country in 1947 and "having the same mindset" now as evident from its alliance with the AIUDF to fight the coming state polls in Assam.
Addressing a series of election rallies in Barak valley of poll-bound Assam, Adityanath, also the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister asserted, the country was "forced" to be divided in 1947 because of the Congress' pursuit of power.
"I can see a lot of Bengali-speaking people here in the rally. In their pursuit of power, the Congress, due to its divisive policy, made your ancestors experience Partition in 1947 when (present-day) Bangladesh and Pakistan were a part of India," claimed Adityanath.
Noting that leaders like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had warned the Congress of the dangers of such a divisive policy before 1945, Adityanath said, "Congress is not a party to correct itself and so resolved to let India be partitioned."
"What the British could not achieve through the Partition of Bengal in 1905, Congress did in 1947 by joining hands with the English (British). How your ancestors suffered due to this divisive policy, you can see even today in Bangladesh, the way Hindus are persecuted, their homes set ablaze and their temples destroyed," he allaged.
Slamming the grand old party, the saffron party leader said, "The Congress still has the same mindset that divided the country in 1947, imposed article 370 in 1952, instigated Bodoland movement in Assam. With that mindset it made poll alliance with AIUDF to once again create instability in the state through illegal migration".
Adityanath also took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accusing him of remembering Assam only during elections to seek votes.
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"Did Rahul Gandhi or any Congress leader remember Assam during floods or the pandemic? Such leaders should be forgotten. Congress has no development agenda," he said.
The BJP leader further targeted the Congress for allegedly failing to solve the problems of recurring floods, illegal migrants and the condition of tea garden workers during its governance in Assam.
Highlighting that the saffron party will permanently solve the problems of illegal migrants and flood menace if it is re-elected in Assam, Adityanath said, his party will also undertake a scheme for giving a new identity to tea gardens and its workers in the state.
"Five years ago when the Congress was in power, there was no discussion on the development of Assam and divisions were created among people on the basis of areas for political gains.
"Differences were created between upper and lower Assam and there were problems of Bodoland, illegal migrants, insurgency," Adityanath said.
Alleging that during Congress rule in the state, there were bomb blasts, bandhs called in protest against various issues, besides law and order problems, he claimed that in the last five years after the BJP formed a government here, "there is peace in Assam ...and the state is reaching new heights of development".
"Change came under Prime Minister Narendra Modi who converted the 'Look East' policy to 'Act East' policy changing the image of the northeast region", the UP chief minister said.
In the last five years, Assam has reached new heights of development due to the prime minister's vision for the state and the country to solve problems, and the efforts of the Sarbananda Sonowal-led government here for restoring peace, unity and bring development to the state without any discrimination, he said.
Pointing out that during Congress rule in Assam, the state government had not undertaken welfare measures for tea garden workers, Adityanath said.
It was Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of the BJP-led dispensation who raised wages of tea garden workers to Rs 217 which will be further raised to over Rs 300 per day, if voted to power, the BJP leader said.
Coming down heavily on the Congress, Adityanath said, unlike the BJP which only works for infrastructure development, people's welfare and improving connectivity, "the Opposition party during its rule had resorted to divisive politics, lawlessness and still continues to do so today."
Continuing his attack on the grand old party, Adityanath said that the Congress in 1952 had introduced Article 370 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir which allegedly "paved the way for militancy there".
"Congress had put restrictions on buying land there. But now with revocation of Artcle 370, anybody from any part of the country, even from Assam, can buy property there", he said.
Adityanath pointed out that Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee had strongly opposed Article 370, saying it was a threat to national unity as in a country there cannot be two Constitutions, two flags and two prime ministers.
It was PM Modi who fulfilled Mookerjee's dream by revoking Article 370, thereby ending militancy in Kashmir, he said.
The BJP is contesting this election in an alliance with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), who are part of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) -- the regional arm of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Elections to the 126-member assembly will be held in three phases with 47 seats going to polls in the first phase on March 27, another 39 constituencies in the second phase on April 1 and 40 seats in the third phase on April 6.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)