The Congress on Wednesday questioned the competence and commitment of home minister Amit Shah as sensitive border states in the Northeast are pushed into a cycle of violence and lawlessness.
“As the media is occupied with Afghanistan, the situation in the Northeast is getting dangerous. Disturbing visuals are witnessed from streets. Assam and Mizoram are firing at each other like enemies and armed men are roaming the streets of Meghalaya and hurling petrol bombs at the chief minister’s residence. And the home minister and the Prime Minister are silent over the collapse of the constitutional order,” Congress communications chief Randeep Surjewala said.
“Whose responsibility is it to look after internal security? The governor’s convoy is attacked. The (state) home minister has to resign. A 98-hour curfew had to be imposed,” he said.
Curfew was imposed in Shillong and Internet services snapped after the death of a former rebel in a police encounter on August 13 triggered violence. The Assam-Mizoram border has been tense since the end of last month when six Assam policemen were killed in firing from Mizoram. At one point, the Assam government issued an advisory against travel to the neighbouring state. However, travel between the states has since resumed.
The Congress spokesperson questioned Shah’s silence on the unrest. “Why is the home minister silent? This completely indifferent, criminally aloof hands-off approach of the central government also emanates from its illegal and often divisive usurpation of power in many northeastern states,” Surjewala said.
“Amit Shah has totally failed. There are reports of fresh tension on the Assam-Mizoram border. Can you imagine two Indian states barring travel and transportation across the borders? In Nagaland, the entire peace process and the so-called ‘framework agreement’ of August 3, 2015, remain in the realm of speculation and hearsay.
“The NSCN (National Socialist Council of Nagaland) refuses to accept governor R.N. Ravi as the Centre’s interlocutor. The NSCN is refusing to accept India’s Constitution and talks of ‘shared sovereignty’. It is like compromising with India’s territorial integrity,” the Congress leader said.
LPG price hike
The Congress also blasted the Narendra Modi government for hiking the price of cooking gas cylinder by Rs 25 on Wednesday, arguing that the burden on the poor was being raised everyday at a time income had come down and millions lost their jobs.
The price of an LPG cylinder has been increased by Rs 265 since November 2020 to push it to an all-time high of Rs 859.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the finance minister was weaving a cock-&-bull story about oil bonds while the real reason was the government’s decision to cut subsidies.
“The fuel subsidy, which was Rs 1.47 lakh crore in 2014 has been reduced to Rs 12,000 crore. The government earned Rs 4.53 lakh crore in 2021 through high taxes on petroleum products but refused to pass on the benefit of low international crude oil prices to the consumers,” Shrinate said.
