BJP quiet over China building dam on Brahmaputra river: Priyanka

Guwahati, March 21 (IANS) Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Sunday that China has been constructing a dam on Brahmaputra river, but the BJP government is doing nothing to protect the river, which plays a big role in the lives and economy of the people of Assam.

Addressing three election rallies at Jorhat, Nazira and Khumtai in eastern Assam, Priyanka said that with the construction of the dam by China, much damage will be done to the Brahmaputra river.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Assam for poll campaign several times, but he did not utter a single word on the vital issue, nor did he prevent China from constructing the mega dam," she pointed out.

The Brahmaputra river, also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in China, flows for about 2,900 km from Tibet into Arunachal Pradesh and down through Assam to Bangladesh.

She said the BJP-led government had promulgated an ordinance allowing big industrialists to purchase lands in Assam without any permission.

Referring to BJP's double engine government in Assam, the Congress leader said that there are two Chief Ministers in Assam and both of them are working through remote control from Delhi.

Claiming that crime and atrocities against women are maximum in Assam and Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka said that the BJP governments in these two states are cheating the women and youth, besides duping the farmers.

"When the people of Assam are agitating against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the BJP is committed to enforce the new act. If the Congress comes to power, as part of the ‘five guarantees', CAA would be repealed," she said.

The Congress leader said that the BJP government has been selling out significant assets of the country, causing enormous loss to the economy of India. "A syndicate raj is prevailing in Assam," she said.

Priyanka also told the gatherings that people have to make their own destiny, as the BJP leaders from Delhi cannot do anything for them.

"The BJP leaders are so ignorant about Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva that they are saying that he (Sankardeva) was fighting against the infiltrations and dealing with other issues. When these people do not know about the iconic figure of Assam, how can they do good to the state," she asked.

Srimanta Sankardeva was a 15th-16th century Assamese saint, scholar, poet, playwright, social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in Assam's cultural and religious history.

Priyanka arrived in Assam on Sunday and during her two-day stay, she is scheduled to address six election rallies in eastern and central Assam and also to visit the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva at Bordowa Satra.