Opposition Congress has accused the ruling BJP government in Assam of supporting illegal cattle trade with Bangladesh.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is camping in Assam and supervising the Congress’ campaigning in the state, has launched an all-out attack on Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
He accused Sonowal of operating a syndicate in the state. Baghel accused Sonowal of giving more attention to the syndicate rather than the government.
“BJP has been seeking votes in the name of cows across the country. But in Assam, it is sponsoring and carrying out illegal cattle trade with Bangladesh. In fact, the Sonowal government has been running a systematic syndicate,” Baghel said.
“Since the BJP assumed power in Assam in 2016, beef consumption has increased in Bangladesh by 211 per cent due to the continuous supply of cattle to the neighbouring country,” the senior Congress leader added.
Besides illegal cattle trade, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel also accused the Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP government in Assam of operating syndicates for illegal coal trading.
“The syndicate is not limited to just cow trading, Sonowal government has broken all records in coal brokerage and illegal coal trading. Almost 500 trucks of illegal coal transportation are taking place every day,” Baghel accused.
The Chhattisgarh chief minister also hit out at the Assam government on the issue of rising unemployment in the state. “The BJP had promised to create 2 crore jobs but unemployment has grown by over 5 lakh from 2016-2020 and the situation has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic period,” Baghel said.
