According to Mr Sarma, actually, there is no separate pool for the northeastern states and it is merely a false publicity by the NDA government. The state has been receiving an average amount of around Rs.70 crore per annum from New Delhi although the Centre claims it has a huge fund exclusively for the region’s development. Mr Sarma says most of the proposals from the state have been rejected by the Centre adding that DONER has approved not even a proposal from the Assam government forwarded from the month of November.

These are not unusual. With this, it has become clear that DONER has been deprieved Assam of its dues since the Gogoi government came to power in Dispur nearly three years ago. But why the youth minister took almost two years to be critical of the Centre? Why the minister was remaining silent even after being rejecting a few schemes two years back. Why he goes vocal only before the Lok Sabha poll? These are shrouded in mystery. Isn’t it his national responsibility or isn’t it amount to a sheer traditional hypocrisy by the Congress?

Most of the 14 Lok Sabha seats have gone in favour of the Congress in the last Lok Sabha poll. The point in question is if the Centre really deprives the state of its dues then why the MPs from Assam including Pawan Singh Ghatowar, Santosh Mohan Dev, Gulam Osmani, Bijoy Krishna Hondiqui, Rani Narah, Dip Gogoi, Mani Kumar Subba have been remaining silent in Parliament?

Belive it or not, going by their performance during the last three decades, the Congress candidates have been lacking efficiency even to merit their comparison to a councilor. Instead, hardcore criminals like Mani Kumar Subba, self centric MPs like Bojoy Krishna Hondiqui, Dip Gogoi, Rani Narah and inactive leaders like Pawan Singh Ghatowar, Santosh Mohan Deb have been stigmatising the great Assamese as a nation by resorting to political dalali in league with big business houses.

It may be noted that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee too, has been retaining the Centre’s attitude towards Assam right from 1962 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and therefore, there is nothing strange in the Centre’s bid to deprieve the states outside the Hindi belt of their dues. But the Left Front government in West Bengal has been showing the door how to get Central funds by dint of the ability. Those representing the state in Parliament with courage too, have been picking up the first buck.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and a section of his ministers and officers use to stay around 200 days in New Delhi out of 365 a year. In addition to it, Assam has a jumbo-sized officers team in New Delhi. The moot point is if they fail to receive the fund meant only for the state, and then is there any raison d’tere for their frequent tour to New Delhi at the cost of crores of rupees from the state exchequer.
Let us come to another state exchequer-related question. Finance minister Nilomani Sen Deka said on September 30 in 2003 that a few big business houses have been resorting to tax evasion of crores of rupees. These include a Rs.45 crore case of Hindustan Lever. He also informed that investigation was in progress.

In the light of the revelation, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced that the big business houses like Hindustan Lever must clear the government its dues. But the government has been failing to take any effective steps to realise the same during the last four months.
Can we hope much from a government who fails to receive the fund exclusively meant for the state by submitting proposals in time and deplorably fails to ensure tax from the big business houses?

- Pankaj Duarah, Guwahati