Rahul came, Rahul saw

Last week8217;s four-day visit to Guwahati and Shillong by young Congress MP Rahul Gandhi continues to find space on the front pages of the...

Last week8217;s four-day visit to Guwahati and Shillong by young Congress MP Rahul Gandhi continues to find space on the front pages of the local media several days after his departure. Described as a 8216;8216;private visit8217;8217;, Rahul8217;s trip included a number of educational and research institutions in the Assam capital, like IIT, the State Institute of Rural Development SIRD, Northeast Development Finance Corporation and so on. 8216;8216;I have come here not to deliver sermons or suggest ready-made solutions to different problems,8217;8217; he said while interacting with people from different professions at two private dinners, one hosted by eminent economist Dr Jayanta Madhab, and the other by the local chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industries CII.

Though he kept away from party members right from the moment he landed at LGB International Airport in Guwahati, he did meet younger members of the party at a round table in Assam Administrative Staff College, where he wanted, among other issues, to know more about the problem created by the unabated influx from Bangladesh. 8216;8216;I do not know much about this controversial IMDT Act,8217;8217; he remarked at one of the private dinners.

A 20-yr refrain

Though the All Assam Students8217; Union AASU decided not to take up any agitational programme that would have disrupted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh8217;s two-day visit to Guwahati, the student body claims it has been able to draw attention of the PMO as well as the nation towards the issue of illegal infiltration from Bangladesh, which has been a burning issue in Assam for two decades. 8216;8216;We had never intended to disrupt the PM8217;s programme, especially because he was also flagging off the historic India-ASEAN car rally that promises to bring about a sea change in the North-east8217;s economy. What we intended is to get an assurance from the Prime Minister, and we succeeded,8217;8217; said AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharyya.

While the PMO has assured of a tripartite discussion involving the Central Government, state government and AASU to review the implementation of the Assam Accord, Bhattacharyya said Manmohan Singh was the first Prime Minister since V P Singh to have at least agreed to participate in a discussion on the matter.

Writing on the wall

Ahead of Manmohan8217;s visit, the Congress8217;s youth wing, NSUI, went around putting up slogans all over the city saying the Prime Minister was 8216;8216;the pride of Assam8217;8217;. But AASU struck back by recalling in its wall graffiti names like Lachit Barphukan the Assamese general who had inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mughals, Gopinath Bordoloi who had saved Assam from being merged with East Pakistan during Partition and Sukapha who founded the Ahom dynasty in 1228. 8216;8216;Manmohan Singh may be an MP from Assam but he has been mostly in Delhi. How can he be a pride of Assam?8217;8217; asked AASU8217;s Amiya Bhuyan.

Bhupen8217;s new tune

Where is Bhupen Hazarika? Good question. Since his defeat as a BJP candidate at the hands of the Congress8217;s Kirip Chaliha in the Lok Sabha elections, Bhupen certainly hasn8217;t been singing any new songs. But last week he came out with a press note in which he made an appeal to the ULFA as well as the Government of India to sit down and sort out the issues raised by the former. He also strongly criticised the ULFA for having unleashed a reign of 8216;8216;uncontrolled madness8217;8217;, a term never used by anyone so far. 8216;8216;The ULFA and various other vested interest groups have to stop this mass murder and no reason suffices for the unleashing of this kind of uncontrolled madness,8217;8217; the renowned music director said.

Hazarika however wants the Government to agree to the ULFA demand of including the issue of sovereignty in the discussions. 8216;8216;My request to the Government of India is to invite the ULFA unconditionally8230;This would also help the Government clarify why sovereignty was unacceptable,8217;8217; Hazarika, in a statement faxed to media houses in Guwahati from Mumbai, said.