Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and other BJP leaders had flattered the people of Assam only to deceive.

The BJP leadership spent the five years in taking the people of Assam for a ride with falsehood and big announcements made bigger with vacuum.

“They made massive announcements for the development of Assam. The outcome has been zero,” Mr. Surjewala told journalists in Guwahati.

He said Assam had taken the second spot in the country’s growth index when the Congress ruled the State five years ago, but the BJP-led alliance government pushed the State down to the 20th position.

Claiming that “Assam is now recognised as the most unsafe place for women,” the Congress leader said 80,794 cases of crime against women were registered in the State in the last three years.

“The BJP has made Assam the hub of child trafficking too. Half of such cases in the country happen in Assam,” he said, asking if the Prime Minister would care to address such issues.

Mr. Surjewala also asked the Prime Minister if he planned to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) after the Assam Assembly polls.

“Modiji promised to implement the CAA in West Bengal but said his government will not implement it in Tamil Nadu. Why is he silent about Assam? Why this double standard?” he said.

The Congress general secretary also slammed Mr. Modi and Mr. Sonowal for 20 mega projects worth ₹10,860 crore that had remained in the initial stages for many years after their announcement.

“Modiji had promised to the public of Assam that 59 lakh out of 63.25 lakh rural families will get water under the Jal Jeevan Mission. But 56 lakh are still deprived of water after three years,” Mr. Surjewala reminded, also calling the “BJP bluff” on the health of women and children.

“The National Family Health Survey says 68.4% children aged 6-49 months in Assam suffered from anaemia in 2020, up from the 35% in 2015,” he said.