Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has expressed his disappointment in the Union Budget and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi betrayed the people of Assam by not fulfilling all his commitments.
Gogoi on Friday said that the 2014-15 Union Budget would lead to differences between Indian regions and will especially affect the Northeastern states. He accused the Modi-government for not allocating new projects for the development of Assam, and said that whatever allocations have been made are for the projects struck midway.
He criticized the NDA government for presenting a corporative-friendly budget, which failed to target the development of poor people and neglected states like Assam.
"The budget has been most disappointing for the people of Assam, who had given their overwhelming support to the BJP. It has not brought good days to the common man in the country. It has brought good days only for big industrialists and the corporate," The Hindu quoted Gogoi.
He also claimed that the promises Modi made during election campaigns did not make its way up to the budget.
"Modi had promised to solve the issues of the state such as unemployment, flood, illegal migration, rhino poaching and water resources. But in reality, they have just cheated the people of Assam," Business Standard quoted Gogoi.
During electioneering, Modi had blamed the Gogoi-led Congress government for clearing jungles by killing endangered rhinoceros to make space for Bangladeshis. Hence, he promised to address the issue of illegal immigration of Bangladeshi nationals to the state once he comes to power.
Modi during his rally in Assam reportedly promised to introduce several schemes for the development of the tea garden labourers, who he said have been living a poor life for over four generations. He had also promised education and opportunities for their children.
Commenting on the poor drinking facility in Assam, Modi had also expressed the need to harness the water of the Brahmaputra river, which was not mentioned in the Bugdet presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday.
In the absence of any related schemes, Gogoi said that he has no objections on allocating a huge sum for building water corridors at Ganga river, but that he expected projects to tackle the annual floods due to the river and erosion of cultivable soil in Assam.
Feeling cheated on not getting allocation for the establishment of All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), he said that he had already identified 200 acres of land, after the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan approached Gogoi to set up an AIIMS under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
2014-15 Budget Allocation for North East (NE) States
- Jaitley proposed an allocation of ₹100 crore for two additional Agricultural Research Institute in Assam, including Jharkhand.
- ₹100 crore has been provided for starting organic farming in the NE region.
- ₹3000 crore has been allocated for investment in national highways and state roads in the NE states.
- ₹1000 crore has been allocated for improving rail connectivity in the NE region.
