Congress conducting survey on economic hardship of Assam people ahead of assembly polls

Opposition Congress is carrying out a study on the economic hardship faced by the people of Assam under the BJP-led government ahead of next year's assembly polls, and gearing up to submit the report within the next two months, according to a senior leader.

All India Congress Committee national spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra also termed the 'double engine government', a phrase oft quoted by BJP leaders, as the 'trouble engine government' for Assam, accusing the ruling party of focusing "only on polarisation".

"A study is going on related to the economic hardship of people in Assam and possible solutions to tackle this. Once published, it will also present a future roadmap for revenue generation for the government," Sapra told PTI in an interview.

He pointed his guns towards the beneficiary schemes in Assam, and claimed that the huge debt taken to offer these cash-driven programmes is a real concern for the state, especially for future governments.

"This is going to be a big issue in the coming period. The question is, will Assam be able to handle this huge loan? We will come out with the findings of the study in the next two months. We will give a comprehensive and consistent plan to the people of Assam," said Sapra who has been appointed as the in-charge of the media wing for the state assembly polls.

The average annual borrowings by the Assam government increased by nearly 78 per cent over three years from 2019-20, while growth has slowed down for GSDP and per capita income during the last fiscal compared to the preceding year, according to the state's Economic Survey report for 2024-25.

"The BJP calls it a double engine government. But in reality, it is a trouble engine government. Their only motto is to polarise people with lies and cheat the common man," Sapra alleged.

He claimed that all works of the BJP can be summarised in three Js -- Jhuth (lies), Jumla (rhetoric) and Jugglery, and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is "an expert in it and he is doing it regularly".

"The BJP stands for Bharatiya Jhuth Party, Bharatiya Jumla Party and Bharatiya Jugglery Party. Polarisation is their main plank, but we will have our action plan to counter them," Sapra asserted.

When asked about the Congress' strategy to fight the BJP-led NDA in the state's assembly election due next year, the national spokesperson said the leader of the Opposition, state president, MPs, MLAs and others are fighting at the individual level against the ruling front.

"The need of the hour is to put up a combined and consistent effort to defeat the BJP in next year's assembly polls. The 10 years of governance here have created a lot of negativities. In Congress, everyone is concerned for Assam, and the central leadership is giving utmost importance to the state," he added.

Sapra said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has held meetings with senior leaders of the Assam unit and stressed that all must be united in carrying forward the party's ideology.

"All the senior leaders understood the message and are now working together. The Congress narrative should be hitting, and it should resonate with people's feelings. The main narrative is going to be corruption, which is affecting the daily life of the common man in Assam.

"In the coming 8-10 months, Congress will present a bigger issue, which will directly resonate with the people," the Opposition leader said without divulging details.

When pointed out towards the BJP's accusation that Congress tickets were sold in the recently held panchayat elections in Assam, Sapra said corruption in ticket distribution of the opposition party is a "false allegation".

"It is a stage-managed accusation to carry out character assassination of our party. BJP is an expert in social media exploitation," he added.