Congress protests smart meters & exam mismanagement; calls for high-level probe into scams
AT Photo: Congress protests in Guwahati's Rajiv Bhawan against smart meters and online trading scams
Guwahati, Sept. 16: The Congress staged a sit-in at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati on Monday, demanding the withdrawal of smart meters across Assam.
The protest, led by Congress leader and Assam Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur, highlighted widespread grievances regarding the new electricity meters.
Borthakur, addressing party workers, accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of using divisive politics to distract people’s attention from the issues surrounding the smart meters.
“The issue of smart meters cannot be diverted by bringing up divisive politics,” Borthakur said.
Debabrata Saikia, the Leader of Opposition, joined the protest and condemned the government's handling of smart meters.
“The people of the state are being exploited in the name of smart meters,” Saikia claimed.
The protest also included criticism of the Assam Direct Recruitment Examination (ADRE) conducted on Sunday.
Borthakur condemned the government's handling of the exam, stating, “They have not been able to conduct the exam properly yesterday, given the kind of harassment they have subjected the candidates to.”
The Congress leader was referring to a complaint filed by a candidate from Nalbari, where she accused security personnel deployed in the exam centre of undignified frisking.
Saikia also addressed concerns about ongoing online trading scams, questioning the enforcement of existing laws.
“We brought a law in 2013 that clearly stated online trading cannot be undertaken without prior permission from the Deputy Commissioner. Who, then, has given the opportunity for the law to be broken?” he asked.
Saikia demanded a joint investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the current Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court into the scams, stating that such exploitation “does not take place without political backing and support.”
Criticising the state government, Saikia remarked, “The government of Assam doesn’t seem like our government. It seems like it is a government from Delhi.”
