Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is banking on the National Democratic Alliance’s victory in as many as 12 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the State based on the government’s relentless work towards development of people irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
The Union Shipping, Waterways, and Ayush Minister said due to the emerging situation and people’s positive discussion, this “figure is very much possible”. In the 14 seats, the BJP has fielded 11 candidates, its political partner Asom Gana Parishad or AGP nominated two and the United People’s Party Liberal-UPPL declared one candidate.
The BJP has nine MPs from Assam in the current Lok Sabha, while its allies AGP and UPPL have no representation. The Congress holds three seats and the AIUDF one, while another is an Independent candidate.
The Union Minister highlighted citizens from diverse backgrounds expressed satisfaction with the NDA Government’s governance, citing its track record of safeguarding their interests over the past decade. Furthermore, he assured the Citizenship Amendment Act will not adversely affect the indigenous communities of Assam.
Sonowal remarked, “The CAA is a national law. Despite the baseless and provocative statements being circulated by the Oppositions, it will not sway the concerns of the informed citizens of Assam” as they know “the law is not going to affect their interest”.
After the publication of the rules, they have come to the reality of the pros and cons of the act, said Sonowal, who is the BJP candidate in the Dibrugarh seat.
Asking Opposition leaders and members “not to make provocative statements with the most unreasonable figures”, the minister cited previous such instances when some leaders predicted arrival of foreigners in millions to destroy Assamese people’s identity. He assured it will never happen.
Former Assam CM Sonowal assured further, “All Assamese are now well-protected and well-guarded owing to the distribution of patta (documents related to land rights) by the BJP Government in the last 10 years to the indigenous people who did not have any land holding earlier.”
The CAA or Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who entered the country on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after facing persecutions.
Sonowal, All Assam Students’ Union or AASU’s former president, remarked the repealed Illegal Migrants Determination by Tribunals Act of 1983 was a significantly more perilous and biased legislation, ostensibly “imposed” by the Congress Government to support illegal immigrants residing in the State.
“If it was not repealed by the Supreme Court, then no suspected foreigner would have been detected ever. No institution or law enforcement agency could ever question him,” he said adding anyone can check the recently-launched portal for exact number of people in Assam to be given citizenship under the CAA when they begin applying.
Taking about campaigning in Dibrugarh, Sonowal mentioned, “All sections of people are happy and coming forward to encourage me and my party.” At present a Rajya Sabha MP, Sonowal was an AGP MLA from 2001 to 2004. He got elected to Lok Sabha as an AGP MP in 2004 from Dibrugarh. After switching over to BJP, he won the Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat in 2014.
In his home constituency, Sonowal feels “very nice” as he always “received love and cordial treatment from the people”. In the Dibrugarh seats, Sonowal has replaced Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister of State Rameswar Teli, a two-time MP.
Hailing senior leader Teli, Sonowal praised, “He has always been rendering service to the party and the nation with dignity. He is a very honest, good and accepted leader.”
On Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi, he said, “I have full respect for all the Opposition candidates.”
Sonowal, who headed the first-ever BJP Government in Assam from 2016 and led the party to a decisive victory in the 2021 Assembly elections, stated, “Nation first, party second and self last. This is the principled line. This is the party with a value, the party with a difference. That’s what we have to stand for all the time.”
Following the 2021 elections, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma was made the Chief Minister. A few months later, Sonowal was sent to the Centre as a Rajya Sabha MP.
