Assam CM failed to handle jihadi issue: Sonowal

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Friday expressed concern over the increase in activities of Islamist terror networks in Assam, and said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has failed to handle seriously the issue.

"The BJP has been raising the issue of Islamist terror networks spreading their wings in Assam for a long time. However, the Congress government in the state has not taken the issue seriously which has made the issue more complex," the union minister of state for sports and youth affairs told newsmen at the BJP headquarters in Guwahati.

"The chief minister himself holds the home portfolio since the last 13 years and from time to time has been receiving intelligence inputs about the expansion of fundamentalist outfits and their activities in the state. However, no action has been taken against them. We are really concerned at the failure of the home department," he said.

Sonowal said the state government has also not shown seriousness while handling the issue of illegal migrants living in Assam, which also involves jihadi elements.

He accused the Congress government in Assam of not cooperating with the Centre on many issues and said this would only hamper the state's development.

--Indo-Asian news Service

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