Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal, launched a campaign in the tea-majority areas in Dibrugarh, emphasizing the significance of Assam tea’s 200-year legacy in elevating India’s global reputation.
Union Minister Sonowal, who has been fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was canvassing for the party for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. He began the campaign on Sunday with meetings in Dikom Sesa tea garden field, Bamunbari tea garden field, and Keheng tea garden in Tingrai Itakhuli field.
Despite inclement weather conditions, Sarbananda Sonowal was accorded a warm reception by the members of the tea garden community during his visit.
“The tea working community is very close to my heart. Your colourful community enriches the complex, dynamic, and vibrant socio-cultural fabric of Assamese community. Two hundred years of glorious Assam tea have made India world famous. A hard-working tea tribe is behind this success,” the Union Minister said while speaking during his campaign.
“You elected me to represent your causes as MLA, MP, Chief Minister, and now Union Minister. My job is to serve you; this is my first and foremost duty. Under the inspiring leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the tea community, along with contemporary society from every section, has been reaping the fruits of welfare democracy that were long denied during the misrule of the Congress government. Due to Modi ji’s early experience in life as a tea worker, he always advised me to work for the welfare of the tea garden community. This is the reason why I, as the then CM of Assam, gave special attention to setting up new schools so that the young generation from your community can get educated,” Sonowal said.
During his visit, Union Minister Sonowal also participated in various programs, including Kutumba Milan Samaroh of All Assam Patar Samaj, the BJP’s Tea Tribe Morcha Workers’ Conference, and the BJP-AGP election campaign rally. He was accompanied by the Union Minister of State Rameswar Teli, the Ministers of the Government of Assam, Sanjay Kishan, and Bimal Bora; the MLA of Dibrugarh, Prasanta Phukan; the MLA of Duliajan, Teras Goyala, the Chairman of the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC), Rituparna Barua; and other BJP office bearers.
Adding further, Sonowal said, “Our zero-tolerance against the APSC scam led to the arrest of culprits who were running a job racket, denying the dues of eligible candidates. Today, anyone, whether from the tea tribe community or any other community in Assam, has a level playing field where one can secure a job with merit. We also worked to improve the conditions of roads within tea gardens,
Anganwadi centres, a cash incentive of Rs 12,000 to every pregnant woman, free primary education for the children of the tea community, free medicines at hospitals, and many other schemes. The visionary step of the Jan Dhan Yojana, launched by PM Narendra Modi ji, has given all of us an opportunity to become financially secure and become part of the financially and socially inclusive development of the country. It is a moment of great satisfaction that more than 8, 50,000 bank accounts were opened under this scheme for the tea workers, making them part of the country’s development process.”
“Since 2014, PM Narendra Modiji has spearheaded numerous welfare initiatives aimed at uplifting the tea community. Programs such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Ujjwala, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana have significantly enhanced living standards within this community. Contrastingly, the Congress party, during its 60-year tenure, was accused of rampant corruption and fostering division for political gain. The BJP government, however, has propelled developmental efforts in the tea garden regions to unprecedented levels, with substantial contributions from women empowerment initiatives. I want to assure you all that this journey towards Viksit Bharat will continue with your strong support for Narendra Modi ji. As one of yours, I shall be committing to this noble cause of nation-building, working towards welfare measures that will help people live a life of dignity with a better standard of living and ultimately working towards achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat under the dynamic leadership of PM Modi ji,” the Union Minister added.
