Assam Governor unveils new government’s 5-yr vision amid opposition walkout

Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya outlined the BJP-led government's five-year vision in the Assembly amid opposition protests and walkout. He highlighted peace accords, economic growth, UCC plans, border fencing, employment generation, flood management and development goals across multiple sectors

Guwahati: Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Friday outlined the new government’s vision for the state for the next five years in his first address in the 16th state Assembly amidst an opposition walkout, alleging failure of the dispensation to address core issues of the people.

Barely five minutes into the governor’s speech on the second day of the session, Congress and Raijor Dal MLAs trooped into the Well of the House. They demanded that the government address core issues like inflation rather than dwelling on achievements.

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The Congress legislators also displayed placards and raised slogans before staging a walkout.
The two Raijor Dal MLAs, led by their leader Akhil Gogoi, remained in the House initially and continued to speak even as the governor delivered his speech. After about 30 minutes, the two Raijor Dal MLAs also walked out, after submitting a paper with the points raised by them.

The governor, in his speech, said the return of the BJP-led NDA government for a third successive time was a testimony to people’s support for the vision of the ruling dispensation, which secured an unprecedented 102 out of 126 seats.

“This mandate reflects the people’s endorsement of peace, economic stability and inclusive development pursued over the past ten years. The achievements in restoring peace have been substantial and historic,” he said.

Mentioning of peace accords and settlement agreements signed with different insurgent outfits over the last few years, he appealed to the ULFA(I), the only major group outside the peace process, to join the mainstream.

He appealed to the people to exercise restraint in discretionary spending and avoidable expenditure in line with the Prime Minister’s appeal for austerity, and added, “Collective responsibility and prudent economic conduct will strengthen the nation during the challenging period.” Acharya welcomed the government’s decision to introduce the proposed law regarding the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) during the current session, maintaining that it will strengthen social harmony, justice, gender equality and a modern progressive society.

He said the UCC will be enacted and implemented in a manner that “protects the traditional rights, customary practices and social institutions of tribal and indigenous communities.” Lauding the West Bengal government’s decision to hand over required land to the Centre for fencing along the Bangladesh border, Acharya said this will expedite sealing the uncovered stretches along the international border.
“Efforts to curb infiltration were constrained for many years due to porous and unfenced stretches along the international border, particularly in parts of West Bengal,” he maintained.

“Governments committed to national security are now working in close coordination at the Centre, in Assam and in West Bengal. A strong and integrated approach will now be undertaken to address this long-standing challenge,” he said.

“Completion of border fencing, including in strategically sensitive areas such as the Siliguri Corridor, will substantially strengthen border management and help deal with infiltration more effectively,” the governor added.

He stressed the government’s continued commitment towards “rebuilding and strengthening the greater Assamese society founded on harmony, equality and shared civilisational values”. “Protection of tribal belts and blocks, preservation of community land rights and constitutional safeguards for indigenous communities will remain priority areas,” he added.

On the financial aspect, the governor said the state’s GSDP has grown by an annual compounded growth rate of nearly 16 per cent, and Assam was steadily progressing towards becoming a Rs 10 lakh crore economy by 2028-29.

Per capita income at current prices has more than doubled over the last few years, and capital expenditure has increased from Rs 13,502 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 26,531 crore in 2025-26. Despite this substantial increase in investment, the state has maintained its debt-to-GSDP ratio below 25 per cent, well within the permissible limit of 32 per cent, Acharya added.

The governor also mentioned of the government’s commitment to create two lakh employment opportunities, make the state a power-surplus one for the first time, effectively tackle the annual floods, build a resilient agricultural economy, and further improve healthcare, education, tourism and other sectors.