Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will visit Assam separately this week to take part in the state government function before the election comes into force, as the BJP pace its campaign for the second term in the state. The BJP led state government campaign has started from Friday with a mega function organised by State Education Department where 30,000 teaching and non-teaching staffs for Schools and Junior Colleges got their appointment letters.
Modi will arrive on February 7, his second visit in a half-month, but this time at Dhekiajuli in the north bank of river Brahmaputra, to attend another government function where he will virtually inaugurate the construction work of 2 Medical Colleges at Biswanath Chariali and Chairaideo and launch the state government aspiring road network project that seeks to transform 57,617 km of state highways and major districts and other roads.
Sitharaman is visiting today to take participate in an ongoing government activity where she will kick off transfer of money to bank accounts of 8 lakh tea garden workers in Assam through DBT.
Assam Education and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said, “Post-demonetisation and opening of bank accounts we have been depositing Rs. 2500 in bank accounts of each of eight lakh tea garden workers. This year we have increased it to Rs. 3000, which will be distributed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on today. She will address a public rally at the same venue and deliberate on the budget there.
On January 23, Modi distributed land pattas to more than one lakh landless local people in Sivasagar before he kicked off the campaign rally where he projected BJP as the sole protector of the mul-niwasi (native people) of the poll bound state.
On the next day, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Kokrajhar and Nalbari in his first campaign rally for Assam election. But Modi and Shah in their last visit remained silent on a key issue of the state – the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord of 1985.
Ankita Chakraborty
