Manmohan to launch major projects in Assam

The State Government is trying hard to squeeze in a rally as assembly elections are round the corner.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Assam on Monday on a two-day visit to inaugurate a series of development projects with an eye on the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

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He will first lay the foundation stone of a thermal power plant at Salakati in west Assam, and then go to Guwahati to inaugurate a sports complex, lay the foundation stone of an open university and address a Congress party workers meeting.

The Prime Minister will then inaugurate a crafts village in Guwahati before leaving for Margherita in eastern Assam, where he will formally hand over three coal fields of Coal India Limited to the National Thermal Power Corporation.

"All the projects expected to be launched by the Prime Minister reflect the sincerity of the Centre towards the state and also shows how we are working in tandem to bring in all round development," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.

The Chief Minister is trying to convince the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to make Singh address a public meeting as the visit comes just three months before assembly elections in April.

"We are trying our best to squeeze in a public rally in Guwahati to give the people of Assam an opportunity to listen to the Prime Minister," a senior Assam Congress leader said.

"With elections round the corner, a public meeting addressed by the Prime Minister in Guwahati could make all the difference in keeping the tempo going," the Congress leader said.