Nalbari (Assam): Union Minister Smriti Irani today came down heavily on the Tarun Gogoi government, alleging that atrocities against women had increased in Assam during its tenure.
“There have been 75,000 cases of atrocities against women (in Assam) during the last ten years. Attacks against women have increased under the corrupt Congress government,” she told a BJP workers rally in Assam’s Nalbari district.
“Tarun Gogoi has downgraded the status of women in Assam. There is only goondagardi and no development,” Irani, against whom derogatory comments were made by Congress MLA Nilomani Sendeka yesterday, said.
“I ask were the sacrifices of Kanaklata Barua, Mukunta Kakoti and other freedom fighters of Assam made for this,” she said, adding that BJP would fight the Congress in the state Assembly polls and “ensure that lotus (BJP’s symbol) will bloom in the state.”
She exhorted the party workers to fight the “ghamandi” (arrogant) Congress in the coming election for bringing about change. “Each of you pledge today to make Assam Congress-free and take it on the path of development.”
Sendeka had made derogatory remark against Irani at a public meeting in Nalbari yesterday.
It sparked off demonstrations by BJP workers in front of the Congress headquarters in Guwahati today who demanded that Sendeka be handed over to them and immediately arrested. They also demanded that he be expelled from Congress. The unruly scenes forced police to burst tear gas shells.
Continuing her attack, Irani said Congress during its long tenure could not link the seven Northeast state capitals through rail. “But it will be made possible under a BJP government, which is committed to all round development of the region,” she added
New employment avenues will be created for the youth, the the Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister added.
In an apparent dig at Congress vice president Rahul
Gandhi, Irani said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who belonged to a very poor village family and sold tea on railway platform, understood the hardship faced by the poor and did not need to resort to any natak (drama), eat in villagers’ houses for photo opportunity to understand their problems.”
Modi, she said, struggled hard to empower the poor by opening the doors of banks to them for the first time.
“He directed banks to begin Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojona for the poor to have bank accounts without depositing any money and identification documents. Under the Yojana 20 crore poor people got bank accounts and Rs 28000 crore got deposited,” she said.
The minister also mentioned Prime Minister’s Suraksha Bima and Mudra Yojana.