Guwahati :Assam has once again emerged as a leading state in addressing public grievances, maintaining its top position for the third year in a row, according to chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The announcement was made by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday (July. 14). Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the achievement is an evidence of his government’s dedication to effectively addressing citizens’ concerns.

“Happy to note that for the last 3 years, Assam continues to be a top performer state in resolving public grievances. A testament to our government’s ability to have its feet and ear to the ground. We will continue to work until our mechanism is the best in class,” CM Sarma said.

The Assam chief minister also shared a circular from the department of administrative reforms and public grievances (DARPG), detailing the number of grievances resolved in the first 11 days of July this year.

According to the circular, a total of 90,686 grievances were addressed by central ministries and departments, while 25,989 grievances were resolved by states and union territories. Assam contributed significantly to these numbers, successfully disposing of 3192 grievances during this period.

Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi on Saturday claimed that several sitting BJP MLAs from Assam have approached him and other senior leaders about joining the opposition party, which will take a final call during its upcoming ‘political affairs meeting’.

Addressing a press conference, he, however, said the party is averse to inducting a few BJP leaders, who have been indulging in hurling abuses on the Congress in the past.

“Many MLAs have contacted our party and some have reached out to me. They want to join the Congress. Our party will take a final call and discussions are going on presently,” said Bordoloi, a former Assam minister.

The two consecutive term Lok Sabha MP also claimed that the “inside story” of BJP is not as rosy as the ruling party tries to project.   

“A constant clash is going on between old and new BJP members. The influence and functioning style of the Dada brigade (followers of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma) is not appreciated by many old timers in the party,” Bordoloi said.

The senior leader stressed that the issue of BJP leaders joining the Congress will be discussed during the upcoming ‘political affairs meeting’ of the party, scheduled to take place from July 15 to 17.

Asked if the Congress is ready to accept all the BJP leaders who wish to join it, Bordoloi said, “Why will we take all of them? There are some leaders who always abuse us. Why should we take them?”    

He, however, did not name any BJP leaders who have contacted him or other party colleagues and expressed willingness to join hands with them.

In the last few months, speculations have been rife in political corridors that a former BJP central cabinet minister, several sitting MLAs, mostly from the Upper Assam constituencies, and a few former MLAs are in talks with the Congress leaders to join the opposition party with thousands of their followers.

The BJP leaders have, however, termed these reports as rumours and claimed that no one from the ruling party will ever join the Congress.  In the recently held Lok Sabha elections for 14 seats in Assam, the BJP retained its nine MPs, while its allies AGP and UPPL bagged one each. In the opposition camp, Congress also retained its three MPs.