Assam Nagarik Sanmilan flags ‘off-key bickering’ among Oppn over anti-BJP front
'In Assam too, the BJP is in power. In such a situation, the duty of the Oppn was clear: read the writing on the wall, unite completely, and go to the people, said Assam Nagarik Sanmilan
A file image of Assam Nagarik Sanmilan (AT Image)
Guwahati, Nov 19: Just days after several opposition parties in Assam announced efforts to unite, differences have resurfaced, raising concerns over the viability of a consolidated anti-BJP front ahead of the next State elections.
The Assam Nagarik Sanmilan, represented by Hiren Gohain, Harekrishna Deka, Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, Paresh Malakar, Abdul Mannan and Shantanu Barthakur, has expressed disappointment over what it calls “off-key bickering” among the parties instead of decisive teamwork.
“The elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and now Bihar have starkly shown us that the BJP is winning one State after another with three powerful weapons: the state machinery, government money, and electoral manipulation. Remember – in all three of these States, the BJP was already in power before the elections. In Assam too, the BJP is in power. In such a situation, the duty of the Opposition was clear: read the writing on the wall, unite completely, and go to the people. Continuously organize the masses. Instead, what we are witnessing among the Opposition is off-key bickering,” the Sanmilan in a press release stated.
“On November 12, after long discussions, everyone had agreed to give Gaurav Gogoi the responsibility of coordination among the Opposition. If that was the case, why did Akhil Gogoi suddenly go to Delhi and start making public statements without consulting the other parties? The fundamental principle of any unity platform is to resolve internal differences through discussion behind closed doors, not wash dirty linen in public,” it read.
“If, instead of collectively reaching out to the people, they keep indulging in such reactions and counter-reactions and squabbling among themselves, the BJP’s victory in the next election is guaranteed. Then Assam will have to suffer for another five years. At that point, the opposition political parties may become irrelevant for us,” they further said.
According to the Sanmilan, the opposition parties must deeply realize one thing that if they think they can win elections against the “BJP's politics of buying and stealing votes” merely through arithmetic seat-sharing calculations, they are living in a fool’s paradise.
By
Staff Reporter