Gogoi blames economic disparity for violence in state

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said economic backwardness was a major reason for ethnic conflicts like the ongoing one and pledged that his government will try to improve living standards and create job opportunities so that such incidents do not recur. “Economic backwardness is a reason (for such conflicts). So our thrust is to develop our economy,” Gogoi said in an interview to a city-based private news channel. [caption id=“attachment_390883” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Gogoi said he wasn’t visiting affected areas so that police work wasn’t affected. PTI[/caption]Asked if economic growth would help to bring down such conflicts based on ethnicity and communal animosity, he said, “Definitely. Such incidents will definitely go down with economic growth and more employment opportunities.” He also said, “One of the reasons why insurgency in the state has subsided is because of growing employment opportunities, development of infrastructure and expansion in agriculture.” The chief minister said he was in touch with the Railway Ministry over the issue of disruption of train services to the northeast due to the violence in Kokrajhar, Chirang, Bongaigaon and Dhubri districts. “Assam was a complicated case” due to proliferation of various ethnic and religious groups in the state, he said. Asked why he had not visited the trouble-torn areas, he said, “If I go, the entire administration will be busy protecting me. Let them do their job… Even when there is flood, I never go. Why disturb official work?” PTI