AIDUF 'hand in glove' with BJP: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said the AIUDF has entered into a "tacit understanding" with the BJP to defeat Congress candidates by engineering a split in votes and ensuring victory of the saffron party.
The remark comes a day after party chief Badruddin Ajmal announced that the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) would field candidates for polls only on 60 of the 126 seats in Assam Assembly.
"By deciding to field candidates in at least 60 constituencies where they have no chances of winning, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal has entered into a political game plan with the BJP, like it did in the last Parliamentary elections to defeat the Congress candidates," Gogoi said.

In a statement issued here, the chief minister said people would see through the "game plan" of AIUDF and BJP who have relegated their ideological differences to the backburner in order to grab the power.
"If AIUDF is for uniting Muslims to consolidate minority votes, the BJP is also propagating the Hindutva agenda of RSS and uniting Hindus.
"Both the parties have the same kind of strategy to polarise the electorate on religious lines.

"AIUDF and BJP are two sides of the same coin," Gogoi said.
He asserted that the Congress would fight the Assembly polls alone.
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Gogoi's autobiography traces the story of how the Chief Minister's innovative and grounded style of governance helped bring about the change towards the path of development.
Karan Singh said it has been an astounding achievement for Gogoi to be at the helm of affairs for three consecutive terms and for steering the State through difficult times.
"For being the Chief Minister during the most difficult times with insurgency and various forces at work and for bringing about a turnaround in the situation, his place in the history is assured," he said.
Terming Gogoi as a son of the Brahmaputra, Singh said the manner in which he handled a State like Assam confronted with so much difficulties and complexities similar to that of Jammu and Kashmir was quite extraordinary.

Singh said due importance has to be given to the regional leaders who are becoming forces to be reckoned with in the political spectrum in the past three decades for understanding the problems and issues in proper perspectives.
Gogoi said when he took over the reins of power in May 2001, Assam was passing through difficult times. "Insurgency was at its peak with militants calling the shots. Development came to a standstill. With empty coffers, Government employees were not paid salaries for months together. But things have changed since then.
"The number of killings by militants has come down as several outfits were brought to the negotiating table. Economic growth accompanied the new stability. And the rest is history," he said.

Gogoi said the biggest achievement of his Government has been changing the mindset of the youth.
"Today the youth of Assam are shining outside the State. They are feeling confident like never before. Assam's future is bright and the State is well poised to become one of the leading States of the country.
"When the history of Assam is penned, my three terms will show up both positives as well as negatives. But I will leave history to judge these years. I, as a son of the soil, am only content and grateful that I could take centre stage in the turnaround story," he said.

The Chief Minister also answered to a volley of questions posed by the audience harking back to the anti-foreigners' agitation vis-a-vis persuading the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to go in for signing of the Assam Accord despite strong opposition.