Gogoi says Assam Governor turning Raj Bhavan into RSS office (Lead - correcting intro)

Accusing Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit of acting on behalf of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said the Raj Bhavan here is gradually turning into an RSS office.

Addressing a press conference here, Gogoi said the Governor and the RSS have been hatching a conspiracy to divide the greater Assamese society into two factions -- Hindu and Muslim.

"The Governor had recently termed Ahom General Lachit Borphukan as 'Saviour of Hindutva', insulting all the people in Assam. Yesterday (Thursday) he had termed Jawaharlal Nehru as atheist.

"There is no logic behind such statements. However, these are not isolated statements but a calculated move to divide the society in Assam on religious lines," Gogoi said.

"I believe the Governor should perform his constitutional duty only. But the Governor is turning the Raj Bhavan into RSS headquarters.

"Earlier also there were Governors in Assam appointed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. But we have not seen any Governor behaving like the present one," Gogoi added.

The former Chief Minister also slammed Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his government's move to change the name of existing welfare schemes and branding them as new schemes.

"The Prime Minister's Awas Yojana (PMAY) launched on Thursday is not a new scheme. The existing scheme was Indira Awas Yojana (IAY). Similarly, the existing Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is converted into Atal Mission for Renovation and Urban Transportation (AMRUT)," Gogoi said, slamming the government.

"The new government (led by the BJP) often talks on security of Jati, Mati and Bheti (race, land and foundation). But, on the contrary, while the government shows seriousness towards updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC), it has also plans to amend the Citizenship Act to give citizenship to those who came from Bangladesh," he said.

Also, since the ground level staff of the the Directorate of NRC are not getting their salaries, they have stopped work, Gogoi pointed out.

He also flayed the government's move to forcefully implement the cashless system in the tea garden areas of Assam and said that people's opinion and wishes must be taken into consideration in a democracy.

"There is no banking infrastructure in the tea gardens and no proper education, and the government is trying to forcefully implement the cashless system among them," he said.

--IANS

ah/nir/sac/nir