Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Guwahati: Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, on Wednesday asserted that the people of the country will see a 'new India' after the general elections.
Visiting Assam Congress headquarters here after being nominated as candidate for Jorhat constituency, Gogoi also slammed the BJP-led government over the timing of implementing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, saying it has been done to divert public attention from the Supreme Court's verdict on electoral bonds.
"After the 2024 polls, people of the country will see a new India where democracy thrives, institutions are again autonomous and the rule of law, not the rule of BJP or the rule of RSS, but the rule of law will be uniform for all," he told reporters here.
Gogoi has moved out from his Kaliabor constituency and will contest from Jorhat in Assam in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, according to the party announcement on Tuesday.
On the CAA, the Congress leader said, "Right now, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is the burning issue. Because in the case of Assam, we have a special relationship with the Assam Accord, which establishes the cut-off year as 1971 for those who want citizenship."
According to the Assam Accord, names of all foreigners coming to Assam on or after March 25, 1971 would be detected, deleted from electoral rolls and steps would be taken to deport them.
"The Citizenship (Amendment) Act violates the Assam Accord and extends the year up to 2014. We find absolutely no meaning or logic in the government's reasoning," he added.
"Suffice to say the only attempt of the BJP is to divert the attention of the public from the verdict of the Supreme Court on SBI and electoral bonds," Gogoi said.