Congress MLA promises to support BJP government in Assam

GUWAHATI: Opposition Congress MLA Shashi Kanta Das has promised support to the Assam government before joining the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma interacting with Minister of State for Railways and Textiles Darshan Jardosh at a recent event in Kokrajhar. Congress MP Shashikanta Das has decided to extend support to the Assam government before joining the ruling BJP.

Das said that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been successful in bringing the communities together in the state in a very short span of time and has also given a rapid boost to development. “Today (Monday) I spoke to him about development issues in Raha (his constituency)… and he (Sarma) assured all help.

Hence, I have decided to support the government,” Das said. “… no decision has been taken yet on joining the BJP. For now, I have decided to support the government for the development of my constituency.”

Sarma said the MLA expressed his willingness to work with the government to further develop Das’s constituency. “There was no discussion on its political aspect. After sometime definitely he (Das) will join the party. He said that since Das has expressed his willingness to support the government, he would help them develop Raha. “BJP state president Bhabesh Kalita and I will welcome him… you can guess what that means,” he said.

Sarma said many opposition MLAs are keen to join the ruling party because of the government’s work, which includes waiving off the loans of nearly 11 lakh people.

Congress leader Rakibul Hussain said he was shocked and hurt by what Das did. “It is still not clear whether he (Das) will leave the Congress and join the BJP… but there is no point in remaining in the opposition party and supporting the government.”

Congress MPs Rupjyoti Kurmi and Sushant Borgohain had resigned to join the BJP earlier this year. All India United Democratic Front MLA Phanidhar Talukdar also quit his party and joined the ruling party. All three had won the by-elections held in November on BJP tickets.

The BJP now has 62 MLAs in the 126-member assembly. The Congress, which won 29 seats in the assembly elections this year, is left with 27 MLAs.