BJP accuses Gogoi of U-turn

Spl Correspondent

NEW DELHI, May 7 � Did Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi make a U-turn in the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA)? The issue rocked the Lok Sabha today, with the BJP blasting him for reversing his stand fearing public outrage. The issue has assumed importance because External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj disclosed that part of the reason why the Government of India did a re-think on the issue and decided to de-link Assam from LBA was an article that quoted Gogoi as saying that he was opposed to the deal, as the State did not get anything. The verbal duel started when BJP�s RP Sharma blasted Gogoi for doing a U-turn. The Chief Minister did a U-turn and changed his stand, said Sharma, alleging that the Assam Congress failed to protect the political interest of the Assamese people. Sharma�s contention provoked the Congress MPs to react and interrupt Sharma. Gaurav Gogoi and Sushmita Dev counter-charged and asked Sharma to furnish details. Later, Swaraj while replying to the debate, referred to an article in which Gogoi was quoted as having questioned the LBA after he sensed trouble. The Chief Minister went to Bangladesh and supported the deal, but when he came back to Assam there was a time when he retracted. He asked about the steps the Modi government had taken to bring back the land taken by Bangladesh, the External Affairs Minister said quoting the article. Meanwhile, when this correspondent asked the Chief Minister about his U-turn, he denied it, contending that he would write to Swaraj asking for the details. �I wish to set the record straight because she said it in the Parliament, which has gone on record,� he said.