Guwahati: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Thursday slammed the Centre for not including Assam in the list of proposed six new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), saying the NDA government is paying only "lip sympathy" to the state.
"Before coming to power, BJP made tall promises for the northeast. However, the manner in which Assam is left out from the recent announcement is another example of NDA's neglect of the state," Gogoi said in a statement.
He said the state government had made repeated requests for setting up of an IIM in Assam.
"This is another example of how the BJP-led government at the centre is paying only lip sympathy to the state," Gogoi said.
The Centre has cleared the proposal for setting up of six IIMs at Visakhapatnam, Bodh Gaya, Sirmaur, Nagpur, Sambalpur and Amritsar.
The statement further said, "The chief minister disapproved of the BJP-led government at the Centre for its sinister motive of destabilising the state governments in northeast."
Contrary to its Act East Policy, the Centre had deprived the region of special category state status thereby dealing a blow to all development activities, including generating avenues for employment in the region, he charged.
