Guwahati: Intensifying his campaign in Upper Assam, APCC president Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday addressed a series of meetings in Teok constituency in support of Congress candidate Pallabi Saikia Gogoi, sharpening his attack on the BJP government and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.Gogoi told voters that the Congress was confident of victory in Teok, citing the party’s longstanding relationship with the people. He said while the BJP had lured voters with promises of achhe din, the reality was starkly different. “Achhe Din never came. Instead, people’s condition has worsened under BJP rule,” he said.
The Congress leader alleged that government institutions were shutting down one after another, while problems like liquor and drugs were on the rise. He pointed to drinking water scarcity and the difficulty of accessing basic necessities like fuel and cooking gas. “Governance is not about distributing ₹1,250 for attending party meetings. It is about education, rural infrastructure and controlling prices,” Gogoi said.Targeting Sarma directly, Gogoi accused the CM of misplaced priorities. “Government schools are being shut while liquor shops are being opened. Children are forced to travel long distances, private schools are mushrooming, and poor students are dropping out,” he said. He also flagged the poor state of government hospitals, alleging lack of doctors and medicines, with patients often pushed to private facilities.On flood management, Gogoi mocked Union ministers’ claims that digging large ponds would solve Assam’s perennial flood problem. “This shows the seriousness of BJP towards Assam’s issues,” he said. He further alleged that many poor families still lacked land pattas despite promises under the Basundhara scheme, contrasting this with his charge that “a single family owns 12,000 bighas of land.”Concluding his campaign pitch, Gogoi urged voters not to be misled by BJP’s promises and rhetoric. “Bring back Congress to power for real solutions to people’s problems,” he said.
