 "Tarun Gogoi, Budget")
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today alleged that his statement on Hindi-speaking people has been twisted and wrongly interpreted to give it a different colour by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav.
"I have never uttered anything against Hindi-speaking people. In fact, what I said was the BJP state unit has become a Hindi-centric party wholly dominated by Hindi-speaking leaders. My statement has been twisted out of context," he said in a statement here today.
He said he has been all along safeguarding interests of Hindi-speaking people in the state during the past 14 years of his government.
The Chief Minister said his government would soon constitute a Development Council for Hindi-speaking people so that they forge ahead on the path of growth and development.
Gogoi said he has been heading the Rashtrabhasa Prachar Samiti and taking steps to promote Hindi language, besides taking part in Hindi literary meets.
"In my entire political career spanning several decades during which I was the AICC in-charge for Bihar and UP, I have been all along working for the interests of all sections of people, including the Hindi-speaking people.
"Espousing the cause of Assam and its people has always been uppermost in my mind," he said.
Gogoi said his Council of Ministers comprises representatives from different communities, including Hindi- speaking people.
The Chief Minister said the BJP national functionaries are making a beeline to the state to woo voters with promises galore but have put important issues on the back burner.
A section of the media recently reported that Gogoi accused BJP central leaders of trying to impose Hindi pronunciations on Assamese, and described this as an invasion by Hindi-speaking people. BJP leaders also criticised him for this statement.
