Gogoi government violated PM's direction : Mahanta

Guwahati, June 30: Senior Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Wednesday, Jun 29 criticised the police firing during clash with farmers'' body Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS) here and attacked the state government for violating the prime minister's direction against use of lethal weapons in controlling mobs.

"The police firing on people who were promised land but evicted on June 22 proved the failure of the Tarun Gogoi government in handling agitationists and amounted to plain murder," Mahanta, former chief minister, told reporters here.

Prime Mininster Manmohan Singh in a conference of police chiefs last year had categorically prescribed use of non-lethal weapons for controlling mobs, he said.

The police firing on the protestors led by KMSS under the leadership of Akhil Gogoi, who has been subsequently arrested, is in blatant violation of the prime minister''s directive, Mahanta said.

Criticising the recent hike in diesel prices, he said it will hit hard the people of the North East as more than 50 per cent supply of essentials come from other states to the landlocked region by road.

PTI