Sonia Gandhi with chief minister Tarun Gogoi and his brother Dip at her rally in Golaghat on Monday. Picture by Biju Boro

Golaghat/Diphu, April 12: Claiming that her family made India shine much before the National Democratic Alliance conceived the “India Shining” publicity campaign, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today promised to accord special attention to the Northeast if voted to power.

Addressing huge gatherings that braved inclement weather in both Golaghat and Diphu to hear her speak, the Congress leader cited examples of the Gandhi family’s contributions to the country over the years. She asked the crowd of about 10,000 in Golaghat: “Did India shine only during the last five years? Didn’t Jawaharlal Nehru do anything for the country, or for that matter, Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi?”

The Congress chief asked if anybody could deny that the Numaligarh Refinery (in Golaghat district), the IIT in Guwahati and the two central universities of Assam were not sanctioned during Rajiv Gandhi’s stint as Prime Minister. “Now I leave it to you to decide what we have done,” she said.

Sonia Gandhi was campaigning for Dip Gogoi, who is chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s youngest brother and the party’s MP from Kaliabor.

Accusing the BJP-led government of doing little for the Northeast, the Congress president promised special attention to the problem of floods and the crisis plaguing the tea industry.

On allegations about the Congress trying to protect foreigners under the cover of the IMDT Act, she said her party had consistently opposed the idea of scrapping the legislation because it was a tool to prevent harassment of genuine citizens.

She blamed the BJP for infiltration of migrants from Bangladesh, saying the party always ignored suggestions from the state government.

AICC general secretary Ambika Soni, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and party in-charge for Assam Digvijay Singh and Dip Gogoi accompanied Sonia Gandhi.

The BJP has not fielded any candidate for the Kaliabor seat. It is supporting Janata Dal (United) candidate Rashidul Haq.

At the Diphu rally later in the day, Sonia Gandhi repeated most of what she had said in Golaghat. She promised “a clean and people-friendly government” if the Congress got the people’s mandate.

The Congress president said she had a soft corner for the Adivasis and hill tribes of the region, but was mum on the ethnic strife in the district, where 98 people from seven communities — Adivasi, Tiwa, Bodo, Nepalese, Kuki, Karbi and Manipuri — were killed in the last five months.

Sonia Gandhi landed at the Assam Rifles Training Centre in Diphu around 3.15 pm and went straight to the Kasa Stadium. The chief minister delivered a five-minute speech before she took the mike.

After the Diphu rally, the Congress chief returned to Guwahati, where she addressed a gathering of party workers at the Manabendra Sharma Complex.