Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday hit out at the BJP-led government of Narendra Modi and said while the Assam government had sought smart city projects for six cities what it actually got was AMRUT approval for seven towns. “We asked for rou-mach (rohu fish), but got some donikona (the smallest fish),” Gogoi rued.

He also criticized the seven BJP MPs from Assam including Sarbananda Sonowal, union minister of state for youth affairs and sports, and wondered why they could not convince “their leader” despite Assam giving seven Lok Sabha seats to their party.

“I find it strange that Sarbananda Sonowal is criticizing me for not being able to bring smart city projects. While I had asked for six smart city projects, wasn’t it the duty of the MPs, particularly of the BJP, to push for those? They could have easily claimed credit by bringing those projects. By criticizing me they have only exposed their failure in Delhi,” Gogoi said.

The Assam government had proposed Guwahati, Jorhat, Golaghat, Silchar, Tezpur and Tinsukia for inclusion in Modi’s smart city list. “While I have heard that only Guwahati has been selected under the smart city scheme, seven towns have been selected for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT),” Gogoi said. “We asked for rou-mach, they gave us some donikona,” he said.

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