High Time For People Of Assam To Choose Between Vote Bank Politics And Development: Himanta Biswa Sarma
He urged people to remain ‘atal’ (firm), ‘abichal’ (unwavering) and ‘agragami’ (forward moving) in their quest to ensure that their identity is not threatened and the development journey started by this government leads to the establishment of Assam as the leading state of the country
Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that people of the state must decide whether they want to surrender to Bangladeshi Muslims or be the part of the development journey of his government that the state has witnessed in past five years.
Addressing the gathering while unfurling the national flag at a Republic Day celebrations at Dibrugarh, the chief minister said that the state will go to the polls in the next few months and the time has come for people to think and make a choice whether they want 'vote bank politics' or take forward the development journey launched by his government.
Recalling that earlier, Republic and Independence Days in the state were marked by violence and insurgency, he said, “Now we are among the fastest growing states in the country”.
Asserting that his government was committed to protect people's 'maati' (land), 'bheti' (foundation), 'sanskriti' (culture) and 'parichay' (identity) and secure the rights of the future generation, the chief minister said, “We have decided not to surrender to the Bangladeshi Muslims who have encroached upon huge areas of land and threatened our identity, culture and traditions. We have started the process of reclaiming our land by evicting the encroachers.”
He urged people to remain ‘atal’ (firm), ‘abichal’ (unwavering) and ‘agragami’ (forward moving) in their quest to ensure that their identity is not threatened and the development journey started by this government leads to the establishment of Assam as the leading state of the country.
He regretted, “Many are questioning why Assam was invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos. But after returning from the forum, I can say with certainty that the identity of Assam today is not of a backward state. Today, the identity of Assam is that of a developed and progressing state in the country’s economy. During our visit to Davos, we were able to strike deals for Rs 1.5 lakh crore of investment in Assam. Today, Assam is able to establish itself as an industrial state. In the last five years, we have been able to set new milestones.”
The chief minister also voiced concerns over the demographic changes in the state, describing the presence of Bengali-speaking Muslims as a threat to the existence and identity of indigenous Assamese people.
“In the 2027 census which will be prepared, if we compare it with 2011, there is a strong likelihood that the percentage of Bengali-speaking Muslims will be 40 percent of the total population in the state. Today, the Hindu population in 12 districts has become a minority. Since 2021, our government has evicted and cleared over 1,50,000 bighas of land from encroachment. On one part of the cleared land, we are able to establish and reconstruct the birthplace of Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Shankardeva at Bordowa,” said Mr Sarma.
Launching a frontal attack on opposition Congress party, Mr Sarma alleged that the party had historically attempted to damage the Constitution of India. “In contrast to the great efforts of the implementers of the Constitution, the Congress governments wanted to inflict damage to the body and soul of the Constitution. The main inscription of the Constitution was hand-written and adorned by Ram Manohar Sinha and Nandalal Bose. After the draft was ready, the Congress party removed pictures of Lord Ram and Sri Krishna. This was an attack on the Constitution of India. The Constitution is the soul of democracy,” he said.