Guwahati, Nov. 11: The AGP today said chief minister Tarun Gogoi had no moral right to continue in office after admitting that his government had failed to root out corruption from the state.

Gogoi yesterday admitted that his government had failed to do away with corruption despite being in power for three consecutive terms. He had even acknowledged that in some government departments, files did not move till money changed hands.

“The AGP does not want to press for the chief minister’s resignation because he will then make his usual shallow comment that the job of the Opposition is to make that demand. But after such clear admission of his failure to prevent corruption, we simply request Gogoi to ask his conscience whether he has the right to continue as chief minister,” AGP working president Atul Bora told reporters here today.

Bora said a state like Assam, devastated as it was by floods, erosion, unemployment and unprecedented price hike of all essential commodities, could not afford corruption. He said politicians, bureaucrats and Congress leaders had looted crores of public money in the Gogoi government’s decade-long regime.

“Gogoi is a self-surrendered chief minister. He has admitted defeat before solving all burning and fundamental problems like floods, erosion, illegal migration, unemployment and border fencing. Had Gogoi consulted his conscience, he would have first resigned from his post before admitting his failure,” the AGP leader said.

Ridiculing Gogoi’s comment that corruption had gone down during his government’s tenure, Bora said, “Does the chief minister want to say that there was more corruption during his government previous two terms? If Gogoi has failed to stem corruption in his 12-year rule, he will never able to do it.”

Bora alleged that Gogoi was a chief minister with many contradictions and that he never implemented what he said. “Gogoi recently said unemployment was the biggest problem faced by the state. But his government has failed to ensure appointment of local youths in grade three and four posts in central government undertakings such as railways even after making promises in the Congress’s election manifesto. Such failure is even more shameful when the Congress is in power at the Centre.”

The chief minister, while releasing the white paper on foreigners issue last month, said unemployment was much bigger an issue than illegal migration.

The AGP also demanded completion of the NRC update within December 31, 2013.