Assam: Congress accuses BJP of betraying tea community

Dibrugarh: AICC media coordinators Neelabh Shukla and Harmeet Baweja launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during an interaction programme in Dibrugarh on Tuesday, accusing it of failing to fulfill a decade-old promise of granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to Assam's tea communities.

The event, titled "Exchange of Views," was organised at the Rajiv Bhavan auditorium and featured Shukla and Baweja, coordinators of the All India Congress Committee (AICC)'s media cell, as chief guests.

Speaking with journalists, the coordinators stated that the Congress is undergoing a significant rebuilding phase under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. 

"Under his leadership, the Congress is trying to strengthen its organisational position by reaching out to grassroots workers and the public," Shukla stated.

He pointed to the massive protest by tea community organisations in Dibrugarh on Monday as evidence of the BJP's broken promises. 

"The BJP had promised the tea community people during elections that they would be granted ST status within a hundred days. But even after 10 years, they have not fulfilled their promise. Because of this, the tea community people are being forced to take to the streets," he said.

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The leaders alleged this is part of a larger pattern of deception. "The BJP only wants to shine its politics by spreading a web of illusion. But this won't work anymore," Shukla added.

Contrasting the two parties, Baweja claimed, "Rahul Gandhi fulfills the promises he makes. He talks about issues, not hatred. Congress will once again go among the common public with issues of employment, development, erosion, floods, etc."

Directly challenging the BJP, they demanded answers. "They have broken their promise. Why didn't they do it in ten years? Whenever a question is raised to them, they start deflecting it onto the Congress. Why didn't they do it, that is the question?" Baweja said, adding that the BJP "will have to answer this to the common public before the 2026 Assam Assembly elections."