Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while addressing Assam Assembly on February 26, vowed to eradicate child marriage from state. He said, “Congress people should listen, as long as I, Himanta Biswa Sarma, am alive, I will not allow marriage of small girls in Assam. We will not rest until we completely close the shop that you people have opened to ruin the daughters of the Muslim community.”
Tag: Assam CM
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Ram temple inauguration: Assam CM Sarma slams Congress after party declines invitation
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said by declining invitation for Ram temple inauguration in Ayodhya on January 22, Congress party has missed the chance to atone for its past sins. Sarma said that after Uttarakhand and Gujarat, Assam will be the third state to bring a legislation for Uniform Civil Code.
Sarma while talking to media persons on Thursday said, “Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) knowingly or unknowingly, they have given golden opportunity to Congress leadership to repair some of their sins. Congress has all along fought against Hindu community. VHP has given them an opportunity to repair sins committed against Hindu community and Hindu civilisation.”
He said, “By not accepting the same Congress now for decades to come will remain an anti-Hindu party. You don’t have to be anti-Muslim, but you should not be anti-Hindu. This tradition was started by Jawaharlal Nehru when he boycotted Somnath temple function, same tradition is continued by the present generation of Congress. In my view they should not have been invited at all, but VHP gave them an opportunity to atone for sins they missed the bus again, I am feeling pity and sadness for them.”Sarma said that Uttarakhand and Gujarat will bring the law of UCC first, Assam will follow them with some modification. “I am waiting for the Uttarakhand bill once I see that, we will bring the bill with local adaptation. We will consider that Assam is working against the child marriage, polygamy, so there will be some Assam’s innovation. In Assam we will exempt the tribal community from the ambit of UCC.”
A bill to ban polygamy will be introduced in the next session of the Assam assembly to be held in February. Sarma said, “We are working hard to bring the bill.”
The Assam government had formed an expert committee to study the legislative competence of the Assembly to enact a law banning polygamy, and the report stated that the state legislature is competent to enforce such a ban.The Assam government had invited public comments on proposed law banning polygamy. The government received “strong public support” for its suggestion to ban polygamy in the state, Sarma said earlier, adding that his government will now set in motion the legislative process to enact a law that will make polygamy illegal.“We have received a total of 149 suggestions in response to our public notice. Out of these, 146 suggestions are in favour of the bill, indicating strong public support,” Sarma had said in a tweet on social media platform X. “However, three organisations have expressed their opposition to the bill. We will now proceed to the next stage of the process, which is to complete the final drafting of the bill in the next 45 days.”
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peace pact: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma outlines electoral criteria; says only residents of 200-300 years eligible for 106 assembly seats
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that following the delimitation and accord with United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)only those who have been residing in Assam for the last 200 to 300 years will get elected from nearly 106 assembly seats out of 126 assembly constituencies.
Sarma while talking to media persons said, “The exercise of delimitation of assembly constituencies and parliamentary seats was done by Election Commission of India and the outcome was 96 seats were secured for Assamese people. In these seats only those residing in Assam for ages can win these seats.”
He said, “In 12 seats of Barak valley of Assam in around eight seats only the indigenous people of Barak valley will be able to win. If put together we have secured 106 seats for indigenous people. In the peace accords with ULFA it is incorporated that the main principles of delimitation exercise of assemblies and parliamentary constituencies will remain in future. This is done so that demography of the constituencies does not change, and political power remains with Assamese people.”The chief minister said that this will secure Assam politically for another 30 to 40 years.” In the accord there is incorporated that a voter before changing his constituencies must fulfil several conditions. A person cannot encroach on the forest land and become a voter of a new constituency . One can change his voting area if he is the permanent resident by purchasing land or other substantial interest. The ordinary residency must be acquired, like someone is a government servant and moved due to services.”
The chief minister elaborated that there will be more discussion as to what more will be added. “ULFA accord has achieved what we tried to achieve through different ways. This accord has ensured the highest level of protection within the constitution of India.”
He added, “We will bring bills in assembly to enable various provisions of this clause of the accord. The government of India when it brings a legislation for delimitation in the country, there will be separate provisions of Assam, we will bring laws to the voters conditionality”.He said that by Assamese we mean those staying in Assam for ages. Those who live in Assam for 200 to 300 years are Assamese. “The political landscape of Assam stands changed after almost 27 years as the Election commission of India has published the Delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies last year.
On December 29, the government of India and ULFA inked a peace accord.
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Assam CM Himanta emerges as BJP’s poster boy for election campaigns
By PTI
GUWAHATI: The BJP’s most prominent face from the North East, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has emerged as the party’s new poster boy for election campaigning, capturing eyeballs as its first-star campaigner from the region in faraway Gujarat and Delhi.
Be it the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, imposition of Uniform Civil Code (UCC), PFI ban, Ram Janmabhoomi temple issue, communal angle to the recent killing of a girl by her live-in partner or the attack on Congress and his bete noire Rahul Gandhi, Sarma has left no stone unturned to push forward assertively the right-wing party’s key agenda in poll-bound Gujarat where the BJP has ruled for the last 27 years, barring a brief period of President’s Rule.
Sarma, in the eyes of his supporters, of course, comes with the right credentials for the role.
The passing of the Cattle Protection Act, calling for specific policy measures for slowing down minority population growth, closing down of government Madrasas and turning them into general schools, demolition of madrasas following arrest of teachers with alleged terror links, sealing of the ‘Miya’ (Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam) musuem, among others has brought him to the fore of polarisation politics, according to experts.
The Chief Minister, however, during his campaign trail has hit back with questions like “does an Owaisi (Asaduddin Owaisi) alone have the right to polarisation. Do the Hindus not have the right to assert their glorious cultural and civilisational heritage? It is the media who term this as polarisation when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strived hard to restore our pride in ‘Sanatan Dharma’ which is the soul of our nation”.
He has also dismissed the title of ‘star campaigner’ stating he is “no star but just an ordinary ‘karyakarta’ (worker) of the party and Gujarat leaders also go to Assam during elections”.
Campaigning in Gujarat twice within a week, Sarma has focussed his attack on his erstwhile party – the Congress which he left in 2015 to join the BJP, and particularly on Rahul Gandhi who he alleged was more interested in feeding biscuits to his dog than in solving party’s problems.
In each of his campaign, either in Gujarat or Delhi, he has attacked the Congress for following ”politics of appeasement” for the benefit of a particular community and even went on to refer to Gandhi resembling Saddam Hussain due to the beard he has kept during the ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, when asked about Sarma’s continuous attack on the Congress and Rahul, said that he has to ”please his masters for his political survival.
The BJP resorts to polarisation politics at a time when the youth and people are talking about unemployment and price rise”.
Political analyst Paresh Malakar pointed out that he highlights issues core to BJP’s communal agenda but added that the comments may also be construed as ”irresponsible”.
“Apart from the communal angle, Sarma is trying to mislead and provoke,”, Malakar, also the General Secretary of civil society group Assam Nagarik Sabha, told PTI.
Political analyst Chandan Sarma of Dibrugarh University claimed that it is well-documented that Sarma has been behind the success of BJP in the North East and that his stature is increasing in the national arena, too, as he ”boldly articulates the core BJP agenda on various issues”.
Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) General Secretary Jagadish Bhuyan told PTI that even after being in power for so many years in Gujarat, “The BJP is not talking about development but engaged in communal polarization. Sarma can go to any extent to instigate people.”
Assam Pradesh Congress President Bhupen Bora however told PTI that Sarma has been taken to Gujarat not to give speeches but for fund management.
“The BJP government in the state has looted funds which the party is using for election purpose,” Bora alleged.
The BJP, however, refutes these allegations with its Rajya Sabha MP Pabitra Margherita asserting the campaigning task recognises Sarma’s ability “to connect with people’s pulse, his practical and viable commitments and its timely implementation which has been noticed not only in the region but also in the rest of the country”.
Besides, BJP encourages and empowers “new generation politicians and gives space to young leaders working for the nation’s development along with preserving ideological ethos,” Margherita said.
GUWAHATI: The BJP’s most prominent face from the North East, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has emerged as the party’s new poster boy for election campaigning, capturing eyeballs as its first-star campaigner from the region in faraway Gujarat and Delhi.
Be it the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, imposition of Uniform Civil Code (UCC), PFI ban, Ram Janmabhoomi temple issue, communal angle to the recent killing of a girl by her live-in partner or the attack on Congress and his bete noire Rahul Gandhi, Sarma has left no stone unturned to push forward assertively the right-wing party’s key agenda in poll-bound Gujarat where the BJP has ruled for the last 27 years, barring a brief period of President’s Rule.
Sarma, in the eyes of his supporters, of course, comes with the right credentials for the role.
The passing of the Cattle Protection Act, calling for specific policy measures for slowing down minority population growth, closing down of government Madrasas and turning them into general schools, demolition of madrasas following arrest of teachers with alleged terror links, sealing of the ‘Miya’ (Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam) musuem, among others has brought him to the fore of polarisation politics, according to experts.
The Chief Minister, however, during his campaign trail has hit back with questions like “does an Owaisi (Asaduddin Owaisi) alone have the right to polarisation. Do the Hindus not have the right to assert their glorious cultural and civilisational heritage? It is the media who term this as polarisation when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strived hard to restore our pride in ‘Sanatan Dharma’ which is the soul of our nation”.
He has also dismissed the title of ‘star campaigner’ stating he is “no star but just an ordinary ‘karyakarta’ (worker) of the party and Gujarat leaders also go to Assam during elections”.
Campaigning in Gujarat twice within a week, Sarma has focussed his attack on his erstwhile party – the Congress which he left in 2015 to join the BJP, and particularly on Rahul Gandhi who he alleged was more interested in feeding biscuits to his dog than in solving party’s problems.
In each of his campaign, either in Gujarat or Delhi, he has attacked the Congress for following ”politics of appeasement” for the benefit of a particular community and even went on to refer to Gandhi resembling Saddam Hussain due to the beard he has kept during the ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, when asked about Sarma’s continuous attack on the Congress and Rahul, said that he has to ”please his masters for his political survival.
The BJP resorts to polarisation politics at a time when the youth and people are talking about unemployment and price rise”.
Political analyst Paresh Malakar pointed out that he highlights issues core to BJP’s communal agenda but added that the comments may also be construed as ”irresponsible”.
“Apart from the communal angle, Sarma is trying to mislead and provoke,”, Malakar, also the General Secretary of civil society group Assam Nagarik Sabha, told PTI.
Political analyst Chandan Sarma of Dibrugarh University claimed that it is well-documented that Sarma has been behind the success of BJP in the North East and that his stature is increasing in the national arena, too, as he ”boldly articulates the core BJP agenda on various issues”.
Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) General Secretary Jagadish Bhuyan told PTI that even after being in power for so many years in Gujarat, “The BJP is not talking about development but engaged in communal polarization. Sarma can go to any extent to instigate people.”
Assam Pradesh Congress President Bhupen Bora however told PTI that Sarma has been taken to Gujarat not to give speeches but for fund management.
“The BJP government in the state has looted funds which the party is using for election purpose,” Bora alleged.
The BJP, however, refutes these allegations with its Rajya Sabha MP Pabitra Margherita asserting the campaigning task recognises Sarma’s ability “to connect with people’s pulse, his practical and viable commitments and its timely implementation which has been noticed not only in the region but also in the rest of the country”.
Besides, BJP encourages and empowers “new generation politicians and gives space to young leaders working for the nation’s development along with preserving ideological ethos,” Margherita said.
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Assam CM terms FIR by J’khand MLA ‘fake’; minister shares Himanta-Jaimangal photos on Twitter
By PTI
GUWAHATI: Terming the FIR against him by a Jharkhand Congress MLA as ‘fake’, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday raked up the Bofors scam to hit back at the opposition party.
Congress MLA Kumar Jaimangal has filed a complaint against Sarma in Jharkhand, claiming that three party legislators who were arrested in Bengal with cash amounting to lakhs of rupees, had also offered him a visit to Guwahati to meet the Assam chief minister and strike a deal for toppling the JMM-led government in his state.
A senior minister of Sarma’s Cabinet, Pijush Hazarika, however, tweeted photographs of the Assam CM and Jaimangal to claim that the two were regularly in touch and the Jharkhand MLA’s claims were “baseless”.
“5 days before filing the fabricated FIR, Hon’ble CM Dr. @himantabiswa sir took him to the Residence of the Hon’ble Union Coal Minister Shri @JoshiPralhad ji at 9 am of 26th July, 2022 in order to help him in his trade union related matter,” Hazarika tweeted, sharing photographs of Sarma and Jaimangal with Joshi. He asserted that the Jharkhand MLA’s allegation that the three arrested legislators had lured him was false.
Demanding action against Jaimangal, the Assam minister added, “Mr. @KumarJaimangal has been regularly meeting HCM Dr.@himantabiswa sir. He should face the law for making a fraudulent allegation against Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam and against those tribal MLAs.”
Sharing his cabinet colleague’s tweet, Sarma wrote, “Fake FIR in #Jharkhand. The so-called FIR looks like @INCIndia asking Ottavio Quattrocchi to file a case against Bofors.”
The Rs 64-crore Bofors payoff case involved the Congress-led Union government and members of Swedish government in a arms deal scam in the 1980s and 1990s, with Italian businessman Ouattrocchi figuring as a ‘middleman’ in the deal.
Three Congress legislators — Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachchap and Naman Bixal Kongari — were arrested in Bengal on Sunday after a huge amount of cash was allegedly seized from a car in which they were travelling.
The Congress, which is part of the JMM-led government in Jharkhand, alleged that the BJP was trying to topple the government there by a offering ministerial berth and Rs 10 crore each as bribe to its MLAs.
Jaimangal had filed a complaint in Ranchi on Sunday claiming that Kachchap and Bixal Kongari had asked him to travel to Kolkata and offered him money, while Ansari wanted to take him to Guwahati from Kolkata to attend a meeting with Sarma.
Soon after the FIR was lodged, Sarma had told reporters here that Congress leaders stay in touch with him as friends owing to his over-two-decade-long association with the party.
Sarma had joined the BJP in 2015 and had assumed the post of chief minister of Assam in May 2021.
GUWAHATI: Terming the FIR against him by a Jharkhand Congress MLA as ‘fake’, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday raked up the Bofors scam to hit back at the opposition party.
Congress MLA Kumar Jaimangal has filed a complaint against Sarma in Jharkhand, claiming that three party legislators who were arrested in Bengal with cash amounting to lakhs of rupees, had also offered him a visit to Guwahati to meet the Assam chief minister and strike a deal for toppling the JMM-led government in his state.
A senior minister of Sarma’s Cabinet, Pijush Hazarika, however, tweeted photographs of the Assam CM and Jaimangal to claim that the two were regularly in touch and the Jharkhand MLA’s claims were “baseless”.
“5 days before filing the fabricated FIR, Hon’ble CM Dr. @himantabiswa sir took him to the Residence of the Hon’ble Union Coal Minister Shri @JoshiPralhad ji at 9 am of 26th July, 2022 in order to help him in his trade union related matter,” Hazarika tweeted, sharing photographs of Sarma and Jaimangal with Joshi. He asserted that the Jharkhand MLA’s allegation that the three arrested legislators had lured him was false.
Demanding action against Jaimangal, the Assam minister added, “Mr. @KumarJaimangal has been regularly meeting HCM Dr.@himantabiswa sir. He should face the law for making a fraudulent allegation against Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam and against those tribal MLAs.”
Sharing his cabinet colleague’s tweet, Sarma wrote, “Fake FIR in #Jharkhand. The so-called FIR looks like @INCIndia asking Ottavio Quattrocchi to file a case against Bofors.”
The Rs 64-crore Bofors payoff case involved the Congress-led Union government and members of Swedish government in a arms deal scam in the 1980s and 1990s, with Italian businessman Ouattrocchi figuring as a ‘middleman’ in the deal.
Three Congress legislators — Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachchap and Naman Bixal Kongari — were arrested in Bengal on Sunday after a huge amount of cash was allegedly seized from a car in which they were travelling.
The Congress, which is part of the JMM-led government in Jharkhand, alleged that the BJP was trying to topple the government there by a offering ministerial berth and Rs 10 crore each as bribe to its MLAs.
Jaimangal had filed a complaint in Ranchi on Sunday claiming that Kachchap and Bixal Kongari had asked him to travel to Kolkata and offered him money, while Ansari wanted to take him to Guwahati from Kolkata to attend a meeting with Sarma.
Soon after the FIR was lodged, Sarma had told reporters here that Congress leaders stay in touch with him as friends owing to his over-two-decade-long association with the party.
Sarma had joined the BJP in 2015 and had assumed the post of chief minister of Assam in May 2021.
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Assam CM terms FIR by Jharkhand Congress MLA ‘fake’; minister shares Himanta-Jaimangal photos
By Express News Service
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday termed the “FIR” lodged by Jharkhand Congress MLA Kumar Jaimangal Singh as “fake”.
“Fake FIR in #Jharkhand. The so-called FIR looks like @INCIndia asking Ottavio Quattrocchi to file a case against Bofors,” he tweeted, reacting to his ministerial colleague Pijush Hazarika’s comment.
Taking to Twitter, Hazarika shared some photographs, showing Sarma and Singh together, purportedly in Delhi. The photos suggest the two are no strangers to each other.
“Sharing some FACTS about the baseless allegations by Jharkhand @INCIndia MLA @KumarJaimangal. Jharkhand Cong MLA @KumarJaimangal made a fake allegation that the 3 arrested MLAs had lured him to meet Hon’ble CM Dr.@himantabiswa sir,” he wrote on the microblogging site.
He claimed Sarma had taken Singh to the residence of Union Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi on July 26 at 9 am — five days before the Jharkhand MLA had filed the “fabricated FIR” with the police — in order to help him in his trade union-related matter.
Sharing some FACTS about the baseless allegations by Jharkhand @INCIndia MLA @KumarJaimangal:- Jharkhand Cong MLA @KumarJaimangal made a fake allegation that the 3 arrested MLA’s had lured him to meet Hon’ble CM Dr.@himantabiswa sir. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/y4zz9KHiwV
— Pijush Hazarika (@Pijush_hazarika) August 2, 2022
Hazarika claimed Singh had been regularly meeting the Assam CM.“He should face the law for making a fraudulent allegation against Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam and against those tribal MLAs,” Hazarika tweeted.
In his complaint, Singh had claimed the three Jharkhand Congress MLAs arrested in West Bengal had asked him to join them and meet Sarma together in Guwahati. He had alleged the trio lured him with cash and a ministerial berth and sought his support to pull down the JMM-Congress government in Jharkhand.
After his name got entangled in the Jharkhand politics, the Assam CM had on Sunday said he had no idea why Singh had to file the police complaint.
“The Congress MLAs and leaders meet me in Guwahati and Delhi. What is wrong in that? Congress is my old party,” he had said, adding, “I have known the person, who lodged the FIR, for 20 years. So, he doesn’t need a middleman to come to me.”
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday termed the “FIR” lodged by Jharkhand Congress MLA Kumar Jaimangal Singh as “fake”.
“Fake FIR in #Jharkhand. The so-called FIR looks like @INCIndia asking Ottavio Quattrocchi to file a case against Bofors,” he tweeted, reacting to his ministerial colleague Pijush Hazarika’s comment.
Taking to Twitter, Hazarika shared some photographs, showing Sarma and Singh together, purportedly in Delhi. The photos suggest the two are no strangers to each other.
“Sharing some FACTS about the baseless allegations by Jharkhand @INCIndia MLA @KumarJaimangal. Jharkhand Cong MLA @KumarJaimangal made a fake allegation that the 3 arrested MLAs had lured him to meet Hon’ble CM Dr.@himantabiswa sir,” he wrote on the microblogging site.
He claimed Sarma had taken Singh to the residence of Union Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi on July 26 at 9 am — five days before the Jharkhand MLA had filed the “fabricated FIR” with the police — in order to help him in his trade union-related matter.
Sharing some FACTS about the baseless allegations by Jharkhand @INCIndia MLA @KumarJaimangal:
– Jharkhand Cong MLA @KumarJaimangal made a fake allegation that the 3 arrested MLA’s had lured him to meet Hon’ble CM Dr.@himantabiswa sir. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/y4zz9KHiwV
— Pijush Hazarika (@Pijush_hazarika) August 2, 2022
Hazarika claimed Singh had been regularly meeting the Assam CM.“He should face the law for making a fraudulent allegation against Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam and against those tribal MLAs,” Hazarika tweeted.
In his complaint, Singh had claimed the three Jharkhand Congress MLAs arrested in West Bengal had asked him to join them and meet Sarma together in Guwahati. He had alleged the trio lured him with cash and a ministerial berth and sought his support to pull down the JMM-Congress government in Jharkhand.
After his name got entangled in the Jharkhand politics, the Assam CM had on Sunday said he had no idea why Singh had to file the police complaint.
“The Congress MLAs and leaders meet me in Guwahati and Delhi. What is wrong in that? Congress is my old party,” he had said, adding, “I have known the person, who lodged the FIR, for 20 years. So, he doesn’t need a middleman to come to me.”
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PFI link being probed in police station burning: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
By PTI
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday claimed that investigators have found possible involvement of Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) in the burning down of the Batadrava Police Station in Nagaon district.
Alleging that PFI and its college-level wing Campus Front of India (CFI) are engaged in activities to “destabilise” Assam, Sarma reiterated his government’s demand to the Centre to ban the two organisations.
The Batadrava Police Station was set on fire on May 21 afternoon by an irate mob following the custodial death of a local fish trader, Safikul Islam (39), who was picked up by police the night before.
“Right from the Gorukhuti, we always see PFI’s hand in the communal tension. Even in the latest Batadrava incident, when the Batadrava PS was burnt down, we are now picking up signals of involvement of PFI,” he added.
The Assam government had sent a dossier to the Centre requesting PFI and CFI be banned for their alleged role in inciting people during the Gorukhuti eviction drive in Darrang district in September 2021, when two villagers were shot dead by the police.
Sarma said, “Assam government is of the view that PFI and CFI should be banned. If you go to Baksa district, the kind training programme, literature they are distributing, show that they want to destablise Assam.
“I hope and trust that the Government of India will give due consideration to the request of the state government.”
Asked if Jehadi elements were behind the attack on Batadrava Police Station, the Chief Minister said that as the DGP has indicated accordingly, which means there are indicative clues.
“Whether that clue has been converted to evidence, that is difficult for me to say right now because I have not reviewed the case. Last week of this month, I will visit Batadrava. Then I will know,” he added.
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Assam CM Himanta credits PM Modi with solving bandh, blockade problem in Manipur
By Express News Service
IMPHAL: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with solving the perennial problem of bandhs and blockades in Manipur.
Speaking at the “flag-hoisting” ceremony of senior Manipur Minister Thongam Biswajit, Sarma said the people of Manipur had suffered a lot prior to 2017 due to bandhs and blockades.
“We had doubts if we would be able to solve the problem. But PM Modiji was confident. He said it is possible. Soon, it became a reality. Bandhs and blockades are now a thing of the past,” Sarma said. He said the previous Congress government could have solved the problem but it did not.
“Modiji built a national highway that connects Manipur with Assam’s Silchar. Now, the state has two highways to bring goods to the state. Biswajit was the PWD minister. Under him, many roads and bridges have been built,” the Assam CM said.
He said ahead of the 2017 Manipur polls, the BJP could not imagine it could form the government in the state but Biswajit could visualise it. “He came from the TMC to the BJP and contributed immensely to the party’s massive growth in Manipur. We all know this and we must acknowledge it,” Sarma said.
He added, “When he was joining the BJP in 2016, I used to think why he is taking such a huge risk. He said the BJP has come to Assam. We will work hard together to bring BJP to power in Manipur. We all have today become the fans of Biswajit.”
Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton, Nagaland Minister and BJP chief Temjen Imna Along Longkumer were among a host of BJP leaders who were present at the programme.
By hoisting party flags, candidates of elections in Manipur officially launch their election campaign.
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Central funds for various schemes not fully utilised due to Assam officials’ apathy: Himanta Biswa Sarma
By PTI
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that central government funds for various schemes were not fully utilised on many occasions due to the “apathy of officials” of the state.
Handing over job letters to 546 new appointees, Sarma appealed to them to bring a new work culture to the government machinery and said that the schemes have suffered in Assam due to the reluctance of employees to work hard.
“On many occasions in the past, funds received from the central government for implementation of development schemes could not be fully utilised for the apathy of officials engaged in the works here,” he said in a statement.
Sarma handed over appointment letters to 218 assistant engineers in Panchayat and Rural Development Department (P&RD), 155 technical officers in Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and 173 junior administrative assistants (JAAs) in General Administration Department.
As P&RD is a very crucial department, which is responsible for implementing development schemes at the grassroots, the newly appointed assistant engineers will be required to dedicatedly engage themselves in the same, he said.
“Assam stood at the last position in the country in implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission though there was no dearth of funds. Our government is striving hard to provide targeted 62 lakh piped water connections in Assam by next year and 12 lakh households have already been provided with it.
“The newly recruited technical officers of PHED will be engaged in the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission to expedite the activities,” the chief minister said.
Noting that Janata Bhavan (state secretariat) is the nerve centre of the state administration, he hoped that the newly appointed JAAs will augment its functioning.
Sarma said that all pending files in Janata Bhavan will be cleared from February 1 and all employees have to work hard for that.
He warned that corruption and negligence in duty will not be tolerated and timely service delivery must be ensured to the public.
The chief minister said that from next year, engineers will be recruited through one examination a year and they will be posted across various departments as per their preferences.
He said that the state government is steadfast in its commitment to giving one lakh jobs to the youths by May and is taking all necessary steps in this regard.
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Assam CM to reduce security entourage by 50 percent, PSOs of politicians to be cut drastically
By IANS
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday that his security entourage would be reduced by 50 per cent and the personal security officers (PSOs) of many politicians, officials and others would also be reduced by half to minimise government expenditure.
The Chief Minister said that over 4,240 PSOs are now being posted with the politicians, in-service and retired officials, businessmen, surrendered militants, tea estate owners and others.
According to Sarma, who also holds the home portfolio, of the 4,240 PSOs, 2,526 PSOs are deployed with the politicians of different parties, 854 with in-service and retired civil officials and 546 with judicial officers.
“We have formed a security review committee to examine the necessity of PSOs for different persons. We want to reduce the number of PSOs by half. Except those people holding constitutional posts, PSOs for others would be reduced drastically,” the Chief Minister told the media after the New Year’s first Cabinet meeting.
Noting that the Assam government has been spending around Rs 400 crore every year to provide PSOs to the politicians, officials and others, Sarma said that currently there are around 22 vehicles in his security entourage which would be reduced by seven to eight soon.
“PSOs should not be the status symbol… It will be based on the necessity of the person concerned,” he said.
Sarma had recently courted a controversy by saying that PSOs are a “Congress culture”.
Slamming the Chief Minister over his “the PSO system is a Congress culture” remark, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Bhupen Kumar Borah and Congress’ Rajya Sabha member Ripun Bora had asked the Chief Minister to surrender his huge security cover.
“Sarma groomed himself in the Congress for many, many years, built his entire political career, and then switched over to the BJP and became the CM. Now he has become allergic to the Congress culture,” Bora had told a television channel.
Sarma had earlier urged BJP leaders and party functionaries to give up their PSOs.
“There is no need for PSOs. We do not have any threat to life as we have done nothing wrong,” the Chief Minister had said at a function in Guwahati.