Assam Gov outlines govt’s vision amidst Opp walkout

From Our Special Correspondent

GUWAHATI, May 22: Assam Governor Laksh-
man Prasad Acharya on Fri-
day addressed the 16th As-
sam Legislative Assembly,
highlighting the economic
transformation of the state,
powered by the growth in
Gross State Domestic Prod-
uct (GSDP) over the past
five years.

Delivering his speech on
the second day of the Assem-
bly session, the Governor
outlined a robust roadmap
charting Assam’s trajectory
toward transitioning into a
Rs 10-lakh crore economy by
financial year 2028-29.

Acharya highlighted the
measures to be undertaken
in the coming days to safe-
guard Assam and the nation’s
borders, while addressing the
issue of illegal infiltration.
“Assam Police and BSF
will jointly take strict action
against illegal infiltrators,”
he said.

“With the cooperation of
the central government and
the West Bengal govern-
ment, the path has now been
paved for taking effective
steps towards resolving this
issue,” Acharya said.

The Governor further
stated that the Assam govern-
ment, under the leadership
of chief minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma, would work
towards fulfilling the com-
mitment of providing two
lakh jobs to youths in the
next five years.

He also highlighted the
government’s focus on
strengthening industrial in-
frastructure and making As-
sam self-reliant in energy
production. “Assam will
become a power-surplus
state in the next five years,”
Acharya said.

He further pointed out
the state government’s com-
mitment towards protect-
ing land rights, enhancing
citizen-centric services and
strengthening border areas.
“The Uniform Civil Code
will be implemented in As-
sam while fully protecting
the traditional rights, cus-
tomary practices and social
institutions of the state’s
tribal and indigenous people.
Besides, ensuring women’s
safety and security will be
one of the government’s top
priorities,’ he said.

Opp MLAs stage walkout

The Governor’s address
was however disrupted to
an extent by slogan shouting
from the Opposition MLAs.

Minutes after the Gover-
nor made the speech in the
House, the Opposition MLAs
trooped into the Well of the
House, holding placards to
protest against escalating
prices of essential commodi-
ties.

They subsequently boy-
cotted the address alleging
that the speech failed to ad-
dress the growing hardships
faced by the people of the
state, and only highlighted
the achievements of the state
government during its previ-
ous term.

Speaking to the media
persons outside the Assem-
bly, Congress legislator, Re-
kibuddin Ahmed criticised
the Governor’s speech for
allegedly ignoring issues of
common citizens.

“The Governor’s speech
failed to outline the hardships
faced by the common man as
prices of daily essential com-
modities have shot up amid
inflation,” Ahmed said.

“Therefore, we boycot-
ted the Governor’s address
as a mark of protest against
the government’s failure to
acknowledge the distress
caused to consumers amid
inflation and rising cost of
living,” he said.