Congress leader Rakibul Hussain has said the party wants the votes of all communities in Assam and will not exclude any section of people from its politics.
Addressing reporters, Hussain said the Congress sought support from Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, tribal and non-tribal communities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, smaller communities, Hindi-speaking people and Bengalis. “That is the difference between Congress, BJP and AIUDF,” he said.
He alleged that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said the BJP did not need “Miya” votes, while claiming that other people would not vote for the AIUDF. Hussain said the Congress, in contrast, needed everyone’s support.
Hussain also referred to severe flooding in Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat, claiming that areas which had never seen floods were affected. He said the disaster was an “annual gift” under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma and alleged that 110 people had died.
Recounting accounts he said he had heard from affected residents, Hussain said families were caught unprepared by floodwaters in the evening and lost homes, vehicles and belongings. He said the government had initially described the incident as a cloudburst.
He said the opposition had a duty to support the government if it was an unexpected natural disaster, but questioned whether the flooding was linked to work on large ponds, referring to a proposal previously attributed to the Union Home Minister to create such ponds to control the Brahmaputra.
