Protesters with black flags greet Prafulla Kumar Mahanta’s convoy at Dhola in Tinsukia district on Monday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Dhola (Tinsukia), Sept. 6: Former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta’s new role in the AGP as the leader of the Opposition today hit twin “opposition” walls — bad weather and AASU’s black flags — which greeted the senior leader as he set off on his Jana Sanjog Yatra from Dhola in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district.

Dhola is under Sadiya Assembly constituency which is the easternmost seat of the state’s 126 constituencies. The party started its roadshow to create awareness among the voters of the state on the alleged scams during the past 10 years of Congress rule in the state as well as to highlight the party’s vision plan ahead of the 2011 Assembly elections.

The AASU which had always held the former chief minister responsible for engineering the infamous secret killings which rocked the state during the late nineties, revived its anti-Mahanta campaign today by waving black flags and shouting slogans.

Hundreds of AASU activists from the Tinsukia district committee and Saikhowa regional unit today lined National Highway 37 to express their displeasure at the Mahanta entourage at Dholagaon Tinali, 1km from the meeting venue.

“We will continue to agitate against Mahanta, since he is the person responsible for the secret killings,” AASU publicity secretary Pulak Chetia said.

At the meeting which was delayed by almost four hours, AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary expressed his gratitude towards the people for braving the inclement weather. “The rain is a good sign for us. As we embark on a pious journey, the rain gods are washing away the sins of the 10 years of Congress misrule in the state.”

During his half-an-hour speech at the meeting held in Saikhowa open auditorium, Patowary also turned “self-critical and accepted that the AGP, too, had committed some mistakes during its two tenures”.

“We have committed some errors in the past because of which the people of Assam rejected us. Our AGP, which is a result of the love and affection of the people of the state, split in many factions in the past. But let me assure you, we have learnt our lessons and buried the past to march ahead with the people for a prosperous and united Assam,” Patowary said.

In his address, Mahanta launched a severe attack on the Congress and “urged the people of Assam to once again rise against the corrupt Congress-led government in the state”.

“Unemployment had crippled the state, prices of all essential commodities are rising, corruption is ruling the roost in all government-run departments and offices, people of the state are suffering from problems like erosion and inter-state border issues,” Mahanta said.

Later, the party also held similar rallies at Doomdooma, Makum and Tinsukia.

Earlier, the AGP leaders, including Patowary and Mahanta, took a bus ride from Tinsukia to Dhola, a distance of 40km. The bus was decorated with banners and posters depicting the misrule of the Congress government.

Apart from Patowary and Mahanta, AGP working president Phani Bhusan Choudhury, MPs Joseph Topno and Kumar Dipak Das, former PWD minister Atul Borah, chief spokesperson Atul Bora, vice-presidents Apurba Kumar Bhattacharyya, former minister Hiranya Konwar, former minister Pabindra Deka, Asom Yuba Parishad president Manoj Borah, general secretaries Teros Gowala, MLA and party chief whip Keshob Mahanta, former minister Jagadish Bhuyan were present among others.