BJP govt has hiked tea workers’ wage and will ensure payment: Fadnavis

GUWAHATI: Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis today said the BJP government in Assam would ensure implementation of the tea workers’ wage hike by overcoming the legal issues it was facing.

“The BJP is a party that ensures that all its pre-poll promises are fulfilled. The party had released a vision document that was supposed to valid till 2025. But, the BJP government in the state has already achieved 60 per cent of it … Accordingly the Assam government has increased the wages of tea workers. Certain legal issues have come up for which the government is taking necessary steps and I am sure it will be cleared in tomorrow’s hearing at the court,” Fadnavis said.

The Gauhati High Court has stayed the implementation of the wage hike serving a notice to the state government. The BJP had hiked the wages by Rs 50 from Rs 167 to Rs 217 per day. The tea workers have been demanding a wage hike to Rs 351 per day.

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The Congress has alleged that the hike was announced after its leader Rahul Gandhi had promised to hike the wage to Rs 365 if the Congress is voted to power in Assam. “The BJP deliberately did the hike without taking into account the legal aspects because it was just a pre-poll gimmick and the party did not want it to be implemented,” Assam Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Bobbeeta Sharma said today.

Reminded that the BJP government has failed to seal the Indo-Bangla border that was one of its pre-poll promises in 2016, the BJP leader said: “It’s a huge task to seal the border. However, much has been achieved and the remaining little bit would be completed soon. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s borders, be it with Bangladesh, Pakistan or China, are always safe. Whenever, China attacked, India had to part with land. This is probably the first time China had to return without an inch of land.”

He also released a vision document of the saffron party here today.