News Analysis India

Tag: Himanta Biswa Sarma

  • Assam to create department to preserve indigenous faith, culture

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Assam government has decided to create a department to preserve indigenous faith and culture.

    “The tribals have their own language, culture, and religious beliefs. Since they are not affluent and there was a lack of institutional support to them, we have decided to preserve their culture and faith,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told journalists on Saturday announcing the state cabinet’s decision on the creation of the Department of Indigenous Faith and Culture.

    He said the Cabinet had requested Finance Minister Ajanta Neog to allocate a substantial budget to the department.

    Sarma said the state government would bring a law to check any kind of exploitation of women and girls.

    “Love jihad does not mean a Muslim deceiving a Hindu. A Hindu should not also deceive a Hindu. If a Hindu youth deceives a Hindu woman, it is also jihad although I don’t believe in any such word,” he said.

    “The law we are bringing will apply to all communities. No woman and girl, irrespective of her faith, should be exploited,” the CM said.

    He also said that the gatherings at illegal liquor joints were contributing to the surge in Covid cases. He said this was the observation of his ministers tasked to monitor the situation in certain districts.

    “Many of our ministers said the Covid cases are rising due to evening gatherings at illegal liquor joints. Wherever cases are rising, there is a link with the illegal liquor joints. It is a serious matter,” Sarma said.

    He said the government had instructed the district authorities to dismantle the liquor joints.

    The CM also spoke about the ongoing tension along Assam-Nagaland and Assam-Mizoram interstate borders.

    “The Assam Police personnel have been deployed to protect our constitutional boundary. Assam is the gateway to Northeast and we are always open to mutual discussions and resolution of our disputes,” he said.

    Speaking against the encroachment of land, he said if there was any dispute, the state government would sit across the table and resolve it.

  • Himanta Biswa Sarma’s ‘shooting criminals’ remark has ramifications of turning Assam into police state: Congress

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s statement that shooting criminals who try to escape from custody or snatch service guns “should be pattern” has dangerous ramifications of turning Assam into a ‘police state’ by making law enforcers trigger-happy and disregarding of human rights, state Congress chief Ripun Bora said on Friday.

    The chief minister had issued the statement on July 5 while justifying the series of encounters, in which at least 12 suspected insurgents and criminals were killed, since he assumed office, triggering a political slugfest in the state.

    “Sarma should be aware that both the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court have ruled that no matter how dreaded criminals may be, they should be apprehended alive and the police has no right to open fire on the accused or kill them at will,” Bora told reporters here.

    Only in case of self-defence can they be fired upon and that too below the knees.

    The Supreme Court has also said that if a criminal is fired upon even in self-defence or otherwise, police has to give justification before the court for its actions, the Congress leader said.

    “Despite the apex court’s ruling, a chief minister issuing such a statement speaks volumes about his disregard for the judiciary,” Bora said.

    Sarma had earlier remarked that all opposition MLAs should join the BJP as “what will they do in the opposition bench for five years?” “Such remarks only reflect the total disregard for the whole democratic process, and show his belief in an autocratic dictatorship,” he said.

    Sarma had on July 6 also said that an MLA’s only role is to make laws in the assembly and he/she has no part to play in developmental activities in his/her constituency, the responsibility of which rests upon ministers, and no officer is bound to listen to a legislator’s directives.

    “His remarks are not only abusive to the elected representatives but also insult our revered Constitution of India. That a Political Science degree holder and a PhD scholar like Sarma could utter such words about the Constitution is doubly shameful,” Bora said.

    The Constitution clearly highlights not only the legislative powers of the MLAs but also their executive and financial powers, he said.

    “Sarma’s attempts to forcefully undermine the function and powers of the MLAs exposes his fascist mentality and his remark that as long as he is chief minister, it will continue in this manner is also condemnable,” the state Congress chief added.

  • Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi challenges CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on power of legislators

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi on Thursday slammed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his statement that legislators do not have any power other than framing laws, and challenged him to show the relevant rule in this regard.

    The CPI(M) also said that Sarma’s statement shows his “anti-democratic and autocratic” nature, which should be opposed by every concerned citizen of the state.

    “The Assam CM tried to reduce the power of MLAs. His statement was against the established norms, many Supreme Court judgements outlining the power of an MLA and the spirit of the Constitution. It is very dangerous for our democracy,” Gogoi told a press conference here.

    Gogoi, the Raijor Dal President, challenged Sarma to show the clause in the law which says an MLA does not have any power other than framing laws inside the assembly.

    “If he cannot show any rule, I demand a public apology from him for trying to demean the MLAs of Assam. I appeal to all MLAs of the state to oppose his statement. I will raise this in the upcoming Assembly session,” the Independent legislator said.

    Gogoi listed out a number of government committees where MLAs are either presidents or members and said that they have the power to instruct officials of various departments.

    At a programme in Barpeta district on July 6, Sarma had said that the MLAs can frame laws in the assembly but it is the duty of the ministers to implement them and government officers will listen to the ministers.

    An assembly constituency earlier had only an MLA, but now it has a ‘guardian minister’ too, he had said.

    The BJP-led government of the state has appointed ‘guardian ministers’ to look after various aspects of the districts.

    One ‘guardian minister’ has been selected for three-four districts.

    On the appointment of ‘guardian ministers’, Gogoi claimed that the creation of any such position is “totally illegal”.

    The CPI(M) in a statement said, “The public of a constituency always approach the MLA with their issues. So, the CM has not only insulted the MLA but also demeaned the people at large.”

    “The appointment of a guardian minister is an illegal step. The Constitution does not permit this. A minister is responsible for implementing the schemes in the entire state, not only a few districts. This will lead to autocracy only.”

    A CPI(M) leader was elected to the assembly from the Sorbhog assembly constituency where the chief minister had made the statement.

    “The DCs, the SPs, the SDCs (subdivisional officers civil), who will they listen to? The executive is with us. As long as I am the chief minister, they will listen to the ministers. The Speaker will listen to the MLAs,” Sarma had said.

    Congress has also criticised the chief minister for the statement.

    Sarma has displayed the BJP’s “leaning towards fascist and autocratic outlook and openly showed that he has no regard for democracy”, Leader of the opposition in the Assam assembly Debabrata Saikia of the Congress said on Wednesday.

  • Major reforms in Assam forest department soon: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said major reforms will soon be initiated in the forest department so that incidents like elephants death in Bamuni Hills in Nagaon, where rampant deforestation had taken place, do not reoccur.

    At an event to celebrate the 72nd Van Mahotsav week organised by the environment and forest department, Sarma said, accountability will be fixed and strict action will be taken against erring officials if forests are put at risk.

    Eighteen elephants, including five calves, died due to electrocution by lightning at the Kondoli Proposed Reserve Forest under Nagaon Forest Division in May.

    The chief minister said that drone surveys will be conducted for verifying the authenticity of tree plantation programmes carried out under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) and other biodiversity projects.

    Asserting that the reforestation drive under Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation (APFBC) will have to be monitored for quantifying the performance, Sarma stressed the need to increase the use of technology like satellite imaging by the forest department.

    The chief minister also said that the state government is considering the option of giving one month of compulsory paid leave to forest guards working in sanctuaries and forests. Officials of the forest department must work for preserving the resources like sand, stones, he said, adding that forest beats and gates will now be abolished to check corruption and illegal supply of forest resources.

    The chief minister also advocated simplifying rules for enabling people to grow agar, red sandalwood, and other valuable trees in their private lands.

  • MLAs frame laws, ministers implement them: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that the role of an MLA is confined to framing laws, while it is the duty of the ministers to implement them.

    Government officers will listen to the ministers as long as he is the chief minister, Sarma said at a programme in the Sorbhog assembly constituency from where a leader of the opposition CPI(M) has won in the recently held election.

    An assembly constituency earlier had only an MLA, but now it has a guardian minister too, he said.

    “MLAs will work in the assembly and frame the laws. If we do something bad, they can topple the government, though they cannot actually do so (this time) as we have majority,” Sarma said.

    “But the DCs, the SPs, the SDCs (subdivisional officers civil), who will they listen to? The executive is with us. As long as I am the chief minister, they will listen to the ministers. The Speaker (of the Assembly) will listen to the MLAs,” he added.

    Addressing a meeting after unveiling a statue of Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, he said that there is a CPI(M) MLA in Sorbhog but the minister there is Ranjeet Kumar Dass.

    Dass, a senior BJP leader and a former legislator of Sorbhog, was appointed as the guardian minister of Barpeta district under which constituency falls.

    Sarma was referring to the appointment of a guardian minister for every district in the state.

    Stating that the position of a minister is always above an MLA, he said that it is the minister who will implement the legislation framed by lawmakers.

    “The MLAs will not decide what BDOs and SDC will do. The minister will decide (it),” the chief minister said.

    The CPI(M) MLA of Sorbhog will go to the assembly and say how many houses are to be allotted, “but to whom these are to be given, we will decide,” he said.

    “The CPI(M) MLA will decide in the assembly that 1,000 kms of road has to be constructed. But ministers will decide which roads will be built. Till I am the chief minister, the state will run like this,” Sarma said.

    He said that every organ in a democracy has its specific role.

    “If tomorrow, judges say that we will build roads, it won’t work. Their work is to point our mistakes, punish for crimes, even give death sentences,” the chief minister said.

  • Police shoot-out ‘should be the pattern’ if accused try to flee: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Justifying the series of encounters in Assam since he assumed office, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday asserted that shooting at criminals “should be the pattern” if they attempt to escape from custody or try to snatch arms from the police to open fire.

    A rising number of encounters, which have seen at least a dozen suspected insurgents and criminals being shot dead as they “tried to escape” from custody, has whipped up a political furore in Assam.

    “If an accused tries to snatch the service gun and run away, or even simply flee, and on top of it he is, say, a rapist, law allows shooting at such a person on the leg, but not on the chest,” Sarma said at the first ever face-to-face meeting with the Officers In-Charge (OCs) of all police stations of Assam.

    “When someone asked me whether shooting incidents are becoming a pattern in the state, I replied that (shooting) should be the pattern if it involves a criminal trying to escape police custody,” he said.

    Sarma, who also holds the Home portfolio, said law has allowed the police to shoot at accused or criminals if they open fire first or try to escape.

    “But before doing what law has permitted us to do, we must keep our conscience clear that our work is for the good of the people and not to serve any interest of our own,” the CM said.

    Under the normal procedure, an accused will be chargesheeted and convicted, he said, adding, but if someone tries to escape, “we will take a zero tolerance approach”.

    “Police has no authority for encounters. In democracy, crime is fought through law and not encounter. These happen only when there are no other means,” he later told reporters.

    At least 12 suspected militants and criminals have been shot dead in the state since May as they reportedly tried to escape from custody, while several others, including rape accused and cattle smugglers, were injured.

    The opposition, reacting to the incidents, alleged that Assam Police has turned “trigger happy” under the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led regime.

    The state police, however, refuted the charge, claiming that it was the criminals who forced its personnel to resort to firing.

  • Why silent on cow smuggling, drug menace in last 5 years: Congress to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: The opposition Congress on Monday criticised Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over narcotic drugs trade and cattle smuggling in Assam, and asked why he was silent for the last five years on these issues despite being a prominent minister in the BJP-led government of the state.

    Addressing a press conference here, Assam Congress president Ripun Bora said the recent crackdown on cow smuggling to neighbouring Bangladesh and police raids on drug peddlers all over the state have brought to light many facts.

    “As stated by the CM Himanta Biswa Sarna himself, it (the two illegal trades) had generated Rs 1,000 crore business every day. Surely the illegal businesses of cow trade and drugs did not start just two months ago, that is from May 2, 2021,” he said.

    The results of the state assembly elections were announced on May 2. It is obvious that such illegal activities were going on during the previous BJP government headed by former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Bora said.

    “So what stopped the present CM from acting then? Wasn’t he a prominent minister of the same government? Wasn’t he part and parcel of the same government? The fact that the Congress party was raising the issue of illegal cow smuggling for a long time has been vindicated,” he added.

    Sarma had held various portfolios such as finance, health and education in the Sonowal government. Since May 10, the police have arrested more than 1,250 people for their alleged involvement in the drugs trade and seized goods worth nearly Rs 132 crore.

    A large number of people have also been arrested for cow smuggling into Bangladesh and dozens of cattle have been rescued from their clutches.

  • Assam CM Sarma meets minority leaders, to form eight sub-groups to curb population growth 

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: After coming up with a two-child population policy, the BJP-ruled Assm will now constitute eight sub-groups to work towards stabilising the state’s population among others.

    Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday met over 150 leading indigenous Muslim personalities from diverse fields and said they had all have agreed that population growth in some parts of the state is a threat to development.

    After holding a meeting with the “indigenous” Assamese Muslim intelligentsia, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told journalists that the participants agreed the rising population posed a major threat to the state’s development.”It has been agreed that the population explosion in some parts of Assam has posed a real threat to the development of Assam, more so in economic sense and if at all, we have to become among the five (most progressive) states, then we have to manage our population explosion,” Sarma said.He said the participants laid thrust on the formation of the sub-groups to achieve the goal. They will work in sectors such as health, education, population stabilisation, cultural identity, financial inclusion, women empowerment, skill development etc.“The entire range of issues will be discussed in the sub-groups. After three months, we will be here again to prepare a roadmap for the next five years,” Sarma said.

    He said in the next two to three days, he would meet the leaders of migrant Muslims, who trace their roots to East Bengal (present day Bangladesh). He said he would also meet the representatives of political parties besides leaders of social and students’ organisations. He said the government would conduct a series of meetings in the next two to three months on population management.According to him, there is a distinct cultural difference between the migrant Muslims and the indigenous Assamese Muslims, who have a 600-year-old history.“We discussed various issues confronting the religious minority communities of Assam, particularly the indigenous Assamese Muslims. They have a distinct identity and a rich cultural tradition and heritage. The meeting emphasised that the uniqueness of indigenous Assamese Muslims should be protected and preserved,” Sarma said.This was the Assam government’s first ever meeting with the leaders of indigenous Muslim communities since independence.

  • Assam CM says minority leaders agree on need to curb population growth

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday met over 150 leading indigenous Muslim personalities from diverse fields and said they had all have agreed that population growth in some parts of the state is a threat to development.

    Addressing a press conference after the meeting here, Sarma said a total of eight sub groups will be formed with members from the indigenous Muslim community to suggest various developmental measures.

    “Today I met over 150 intellectuals, writers, doctors, artistes, historians and professors among others. We discussed various issues confronting the Assamese minority people,” he added.

    All present in the meeting agreed that “population explosion” in some parts of Assam pose a threat to the development of the state, he added.

    “If Assam wants to become one of the top five states in India, then we have to manage our population explosion. This was agreed by all,” Sarma said.

    He also added the government will be forming eight sub groups with members from the indigenous Muslim community and these will submit reports on development of the community within the next three months.

    “After compilation of the reports, a roadmap will be created to uplift people from the minority community.

    We will work in the next five years according to that roadmap,” Sarma said.

    The Chief Minister also told reporters that the next round of meetings will be held with politicians and student bodies representing the minority community.

    “In the next few days, I will sit with representatives of the migrant Muslims or Muslim people who originated from East Bengal. There are distinct cultural differences between the two Muslim communities (indigenous and East Bengal) and we respect that,” he added.

  • 54 days of BJP 2.0 in Assam: 11 killed in encounters, 6 ‘fleeing’ accused sustain gunshot wounds

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: In the past 54 days since the BJP-led government under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was installed in Assam, at least six people in police custody sustained gunshot wounds while trying to “flee”.

    The injured were a cop allegedly involved in a case of kidnapping, one involved in a case of rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl, two cattle smugglers, a dacoit, and a drug peddler.

    In the latest incident that took place on Friday night in Kokrajhar district, an alleged cattle smuggler was injured when the police fired at him. District Superintendent of Police, Thube Prateek Vijaykumar said the accused was attempting to flee after allegedly snatching the pistol of a police officer.

    Assam’s Special Director General of Police GP Singh had narrated on Twitter all the other failed attempts of the accused persons to flee.

    According to him, on July 2, one Syed Ali (62), who is an accused in a case of rape and murder of a minor girl at Bhuragaon in Morigaon district, was injured in police firing while the person tried to escape under the garb of answering nature’s call.

    On June 29, Raj Babu Singh, a police constable detained in connection with the kidnapping of a man from Guwahati, was injured in police firing while he was trying to escape from custody.

    On June 26, an arrested veteran dacoit Sahidul Islam aka Sampatka had made an attempt to escape from the custody of Dhubri police using force. The police had cut short his run by opening fire in which he was injured.

    Similarly, on June 24, one Mozammil Haque, who was arrested by Barpeta police in connection with cattle smuggling, had tried to “use force and escape from lawful custody”. He was injured when the police fired to prevent his escape.

    On June 22, an alleged drug peddler Safikul, who was arrested at Dharapur, tried to escape from police custody, and to prevent him from escaping, the police had fired that left him grievously injured.

    Another person, an accused in a double rape and murder case in Kokrajhar district, was injured in police firing during a search operation. He was not in police custody then.

    During the period, the police gunned down 11 persons, including nine militants. The insurgents were killed in three separate incidents.

    The two others killed were one Kanwaldeep Singh Sidhu, a former officer with Railways Protection Special Force who was apprehended by the police for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping case in Guwahati. The police said he snatched a police weapon during travel and fired. He was injured in the retaliatory fire and succumbed to his injuries later.

    Bubu Konwar, a gangster who was facing charges of murder, kidnapping, vehicle lifting, etc in more than 40 cases, was shot dead by the police on June 23.

    On June 4, the Special DGP had tweeted: “My suggestion, advice, and warning to criminals, especially the repeat criminals – The recidivists – Take a cue from past few weeks about what lies ahead of you. We would not spare you, wherever you are.”