Guwahati, Oct 5 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said the disbursement of financial assistance to flood-hit people in the eastern districts was being delayed so that opposition MLA Akhil Gogoi cannot claim credit for the release.
Gogoi, the Raijor Dal president, has been staging an indefinite sit-in on the state assembly premises here for the last three days seeking quick disbursement of the aid. He accused the chief minister of politicising the issue and trying to make light of a grave situation, noting that barring a few families, a majority of the affected people have not received any financial assistance from the government.
“Around seven days ago, Gogoi had spoken to me over the phone at length on the compensation issue… I had explained to him in detail. Now, when he knows that people will get the money, he wants to take the credit. We have to delay the disbursement so that he cannot claim the credit,” Sarma said at a press conference here.
“My mistake was sharing with him details about the compensation. He is indulging in politics over the matter, and so will I,” the CM added.
Sarma claimed the people have lost faith in Gogoi.
“Gogoi and another person think they can convince the people that they ensured the disbursement of the aid,” he said, without identifying the other person.
He also took a dig at two women opposition leaders for allegedly “hopping from one party’s protest to another” in an attempt to establish their political identity, though he refrained from identifying them.
Gogoi, reacting to the chief minister’s statement, said he was compelled to launch the “indefinite satyagraha” when no help was forthcoming even after 75 days of the devastating floods.
“I sat on protest on October 2, which was the 76th day of the floods hitting the eastern districts. No monetary relief has been extended, barring some families receiving an ex gratia of Rs 15,000 each,” Gogoi told PTI.
“It was a catastrophic disaster and not an annual flood. The way the government dealt with it is unacceptable,” he said.
Gogoi accused the chief minister of politicising the issue and trying to make light of a grave situation.
“I started my protest to remind the government how they have forgotten the people who lost everything,” he asserted.
Among the demands put forth by Gogoi is compensation of a minimum of Rs 10 lakh for each flood-affected family in Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat.
He has also urged the government to provide Rs 15,000 as one-time interim financial assistance to flood-hit people of the three districts, and an additional Rs 10,000 to those in Sivasagar and Charaideo, as announced by the chief minister.
Besides, he also demanded a CBI inquiry into the circumstances leading to the unprecedented floods this year.
At least 108 people died in the floods in the state this year, while houses, schools, roads, embankments, cattle sheds, fisheries and health centres were among the infrastructure damaged in the deluge.
