SILCHAR, March 1 (AGENCIES): Keeping in mind the coming assembly elections, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, promised the Barak Valley a Rs 1,000-crore package if the Congress wins in all the 15 segments of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi.
"I will not mind if we fall short of two or three seats. But we want your support to accelerate development. I am not only the chief minister of the Brahmaputra Valley but also of Barak. I believe in equal development of all parts of the state," said the chief minister during his two-day visit. In Barak, the Congress has seven assembly seats out of a total of 15.
The chief minister laid the foundation stone of at least three projects across the valley. While on Sunday he laid the foundation stone of a Rs-4 crore Model Hospital at Chibitabichia near Algapur, on Monday he laid the foundation stone of a Rs-150 crore Silchar bypass road at Ramnagar at Malua in Karimganj. On Sunday evening he addressed a meeting of Congress workers at Silchar.
The police had to resort to a lathicharge to control an unruly mob at Malua. Sources said supporters of an aspirant (former MLA) for Congress ticket from Badarpur protested against Assam excise and border development minister, Gautom Roy, when he addressed the ceremony. The mob compelled Roy to stop his speech midway. Though the police used light baton to control them, they were calmed only when the chief minister requested them to.
The chief minister tried to appease Hindu Bengalis in his speech who were upset over a recent remark of AICC general secretary and Assam in-charge Digvijay Singh on the question of Hindu refugees.
Gogoi pointed out that the Congress likes to believe that there's a difference between refugees and foreigners. "The Congress has sympathy for those Hindus coming from Bangladesh under certain circumstances," the chief minister said.
Singh had said, "If a Hindu from Bangladesh comes to India after a stipulated time-frame he also should be treated as an infiltrator or a foreigner. There's no constitutional provision to treat Hindus coming from Bangladesh and Pakistan as refugees."
The senior Congress leader's remark had raised angry protests from the BJP and other Hindu groups. The chief minister, while criticising BJP for playing with the religious sentiments of the people, lambasted AGP for underdevelopment and the economic chaos in the state.
"I will not mind if we fall short of two or three seats. But we want your support to accelerate development. I am not only the chief minister of the Brahmaputra Valley but also of Barak. I believe in equal development of all parts of the state," said the chief minister during his two-day visit. In Barak, the Congress has seven assembly seats out of a total of 15.
The chief minister laid the foundation stone of at least three projects across the valley. While on Sunday he laid the foundation stone of a Rs-4 crore Model Hospital at Chibitabichia near Algapur, on Monday he laid the foundation stone of a Rs-150 crore Silchar bypass road at Ramnagar at Malua in Karimganj. On Sunday evening he addressed a meeting of Congress workers at Silchar.
The police had to resort to a lathicharge to control an unruly mob at Malua. Sources said supporters of an aspirant (former MLA) for Congress ticket from Badarpur protested against Assam excise and border development minister, Gautom Roy, when he addressed the ceremony. The mob compelled Roy to stop his speech midway. Though the police used light baton to control them, they were calmed only when the chief minister requested them to.
The chief minister tried to appease Hindu Bengalis in his speech who were upset over a recent remark of AICC general secretary and Assam in-charge Digvijay Singh on the question of Hindu refugees.
Gogoi pointed out that the Congress likes to believe that there's a difference between refugees and foreigners. "The Congress has sympathy for those Hindus coming from Bangladesh under certain circumstances," the chief minister said.
Singh had said, "If a Hindu from Bangladesh comes to India after a stipulated time-frame he also should be treated as an infiltrator or a foreigner. There's no constitutional provision to treat Hindus coming from Bangladesh and Pakistan as refugees."
The senior Congress leader's remark had raised angry protests from the BJP and other Hindu groups. The chief minister, while criticising BJP for playing with the religious sentiments of the people, lambasted AGP for underdevelopment and the economic chaos in the state.
