Gogoi assails Assam BJP leader's allegation

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today termed as "baseless and politically motivated" the allegation by BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma that the Speaker of the Assembly was influenced by him.
Gogoi said, "It is really unfortunate that Himanta Biswa Sarma chose to hurl wild allegations against me that I have influenced the Speaker."
In a statement, he said, "It is a blatant lie. This is a grave insult to the Hon'ble Speaker who always maintains neutrality and impartiality. He has also desecrated the sanctity of the House."
Gogoi challenged Sarma to prove his allegation and said that if he failed, he would have to apologise publicly.

He also hit out at Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for his remark that the Assembly had been turned into a Congress' office.
Talking about rise in prices of essential commodities,

the Assam Chief Minister said the government is monitoring the situation on daily basis.
He alleged that the price rise is partly because BJP collected huge money from traders before the Assembly polls and now the business community is passing on the burden.
"However, we are taking measure and it is now coming down. We are now monitoring the prices of non-essential items and looking to control them as well," Gogoi said.

Regarding the flood problem, he said the Centre has not released Rs 1,290 crore due to the state and released only Rs 65 crore.
"I have written letters, met central ministers, Assam Chief Secretary has written and met officials, but nothing has happened yet. Now flood has come again. How are we going to handle it if we do not get money of the previous year.
The control measures have been affected," he said.
On rhino poaching, Gogoi said the state government has submitted a proposal to the Centre for purchasing latest weapons and equipment like night vision tools.
He also said the Narendra Modi government is "crushing democracy" by imposing President's Rule and toppling democratically elected governments in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

"They (Centre) always talk about cooperative federalism. But in reality, they are doing the opposite. They are breaking all non-BJP governments by all sorts of tactics," Gogoi said.
Regarding rising drug abuse in the state, the Chief Minister said that he has asked to form a task force to deal with the situation.
"It is a very serious problem. Many families are destroyed. Youths are spoiling their future. A generation is getting destroyed. It is a big racket in many states like Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and other states. We have to take a holistic approach and have to stop it at any cost," he said.