Guwahati, February 27 – Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will present a performance report card of the past 10 years of governance during the 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra', which is set to be launched statewide from Saturday. The yatra aims to connect with people ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters here, CM Sarma said the yatra is an effort to directly present the state government's achievements to the people. "The Jan Ashirwad Yatra is an attempt to show the people the success of serving them over the last 10 years," he said, adding that the outreach program will also be a measure of accountability.
The Chief Minister said that BJP leaders will also seek forgiveness from the public for works that could not be completed. "During this yatra, we will apologize for the tasks that we were unable to complete," CM Sarma said.
As part of the campaign, the BJP released three songs on Friday. Chief Minister Sarma said the songs were prepared under the guidance of Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita, and are aimed at emotionally connecting with the people during the yatra.
Rejecting allegations that the BJP relies on "performance report cards" while selecting candidates, CM Sarma said, "The BJP does not function on report cards. The only consideration is which candidate has the best chance of winning."
The Chief Minister also referred to recent incidents of violence, claiming that BJP workers were attacked by unknown individuals while attempting to serve notices to people occupying land in tribal belts and blocks. "Despite eviction drives covering nearly 1.5 lakh bighas, there are people who are still prepared to resist," he said.
Defending the BJP government's policies, CM Sarma asserted that the state's social and cultural harmony would be at risk without the BJP in power in the state. "If there is no BJP government, nobody will respect the teachings of Gurujana Sankardeva," he claimed.
The 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' is likely to cover several districts of Assam and will involve senior BJP leaders and workers engaging directly with citizens ahead of upcoming Assembly polls.
