Priyanka Gandhi releases 20 point 'chargesheet' against Assam govt, alleges "syndicate raj" operation

Guwahati (Assam) [India], February 19 (ANI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday released a 20-point "chargesheet" against the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led state government ahead of the Assam Assembly elections, laying out the concerns and frievances of the people.
As per the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, the chargesheet, prepared by a committee headed by MP Pradyut Bordoloi, contains 20 major allegations against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
The chargesheet was released at a programme held in the afternoon at the Manvendra Sharma Complex in Guwahati.
Addressing the gathering, APCC President Gaurav Gogoi said that Priyanka Gandhi had come to understand the sentiments of the people of Assam and had taken on the special responsibility of leading the Screening Committee.
Gogoi remarked that this demonstrates the seriousness with which the Congress party is approaching the forthcoming Assembly elections and asserted that the party is ready for a decisive political battle.
Pradyut Bordoloi said the chargesheet was prepared after five teams travelled across the state to gather public opinion. Inputs were taken from grassroots organisations, indigenous groups, business communities, intellectuals, and various stakeholders.
He stated that the document reflects the allegations made by the people of Assam against the state government.
The 20-point chargesheet levels serious allegations, including the operation of a "syndicate raj" from Dispur; encouragement and protection of illegal activities such as rat-hole mining to generate unlawful funds; and allegedly turning Assam into a government-protected corridor for the transportation of banned goods and drugs smuggled through international borders.
It further alleged the establishment of a syndicate-controlled system that collects money on goods entering and leaving Assam to ensure barrier-free movement, including timber, sand, stone, coal, iron, Burmese betel nut, poultry, cattle, fish, eggs, spices, cigarettes and other commodities, with fixed commissions collected at designated checkpoints, a release said.
Despite repeated adverse observations by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the chargesheet alleges that illegal trade has continued. It also accused the government of creating a parallel institutionalised commission system in health services, public works projects, transfers and postings of officials, and tenders allegedly controlled by the Chief Minister, thereby weakening normal governance.
The document further alleged that the Chief Minister, ministers, and MLAs have accumulated illegal assets in their own names and in the names of family members. It raised issues such as repeated borrowings despite CAG warnings; failure to grant Scheduled Tribe status to six communities; alleged eviction of indigenous people and allocation of land to corporate interests; neglect of the Assam Accord and failure to implement Clause 6; and halting of the NRC process, including allegations of a Rs 1,600 crore scam in the name of NRC, as per the release.
Additional allegations included biased bulldozer actions against common citizens; suppression of freedom of speech and the media; failure to fulfil the long-standing promise of Rs 351 daily wages for tea garden workers; environmental degradation and alleged encouragement of illegal and unscientific rat-hole mining, turning mineral-rich areas into "valleys of death".
As per the party release, further allegations are failure to generate new employment; projecting routine filling of vacancies as large-scale recruitment; ignoring the drug menace while resorting to PR stunts; fostering a climate of fear through encounters; poor urban planning leading to chronic flooding and waste mismanagement; failure to secure national disaster status for floods and erosion; weakening of public education; and inadequate healthcare services resulting in increased deaths from preventable diseases.
Several senior leaders and party workers were present, including DK Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka; Bhupesh Baghel; Screening Committee members Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Imran Masood and Dr. Srivella Prasad; Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh; APCC President Gaurav Gogoi; Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia; MP Rakibul Hussain; former APCC President Ripun Bora. (ANI)