Zeenews Bureau
Guwahati/New Delhi: After defending him for the past few days, the Congress high command now appears to be upset with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi whose government has failed to contain the ethnic strife in the state.
Even though no fresh violence was reported on Friday with train services also running smoothly, the Congress has formed a 10-member coordination committee for the state.
Congress leaders are miffed with Gogoi who found time to visit the epicenter of violence, Kokrajhar district five days after violence began there and spread to other districts.
Several Muslim MPs, including three from Congress led by former Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha K Rahman Khan, also expressed loss of confidence in the Congress government in Assam yesterday, demanding central intervention to end the ethnic clashes there.
The MPs met Home Minister P Chidambaram yesterday a day after submitting a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking effective steps to control the situation in Assam.
"There is failure somewhere. We have lost confidence in state government's ability to control violence and demanded central intervention," Khan, a senior Parliamentarian of Congress, told reporters.
"The situation is very tense and something has to be done urgently. The state government has not been able to control the situation. We have asked for central intervention," Khan said.
Visiting Kokrajhar yesterday, Gogoi had said that "Assam is not burning" and that it will take two to three more days for the situation to turn normal.
Meanwhile, the death toll in clashes between Bodos and Muslim immigrants has risen to 44 people.
Indefinite curfew and shoot-at-sight orders were in force in worst-affected Kokrajhar district, while night curfew was on in Chirang and Dhubri districts.
Nearly two lakh people are taking shelter in 150 relief camps while 11 persons are missing.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would visit Assam tomorrow to take stock of the situation and the steps being taken to control the unrest.
First Published: Friday, July 27, 2012, 10:28