Guwahati, March 5 Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused the Congress of committing five major sins against the people of Assam since independence on Sunday.
Addressing two election rallies in Bokakhat and Naduar, Chouhan alleged that in 1947, during the partition, the Congress was "in favor of handing over Assam to Pakistan", but it was the state's first Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi who struggled hard to ensure that it remained a part of India.
The second sin committed by the Congress was during the India-China war of 1962, when then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru "bade farewell to the state and left it to its fate", he said.
The Congress's third sin was "allowing infiltrators to settle in the state and giving them protection", which led to pressure on its resources and employment opportunities, but the BJP is committed to freeing all land from the clutches of infiltrators, the Union minister said.
Chouhan said the Congress committed the fourth sin by "failing" to create job opportunities, forcing the youth to leave the state to seek employment outside.
He said the party's fifth and final sin was that it "weakened" democracy and "promoted" dynastic rule in the country.
The Union minister said that the Congress made Priyanka Gandhi in charge of elections in Assam, but when she came, senior leaders left the party.
The Congress is a divided party, and "how can they ensure the welfare of the people and progress of the state. It is only the BJP that can take the journey of development ahead", he added.
Chouhan also alleged that the Congress did nothing for tea garden workers of the state for decades.
"The tea garden workers toiled hard for years and sent tea across the globe, but they did not even have the right of the land on which their homes stood. It is the BJP government at the Centre and state that ensured land rights for the workers," Chouhan asserted.
He campaigned for NDA constituent AGP's candidate and minister Atul Bora at Bokakhat and for BJP candidate Padma Hazarika at Naduar.
Polling for the 126-member Assam assembly will be held on April 9. Votes will be counted on May 4.