Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam CM lays foundation for 220 crore Jorhat town water supply scheme

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma laid the foundation stone for the Jorhat town water supply scheme and also launched a series of transformative initiatives, aimed at fostering growth and progress in Jorhat district.CM Sarma, addressed the "long-standing issue faced by the people of Jorhat," to facilitate safe drinking water to the people."The Drink from Tap (DFT) project will involve a financial outlay of Rs. 220 crore which will ensure clean and uninterrupted 24X7 water supply by leveraging advanced technology and modern infrastructure," read a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.These initiatives span across various sectors, including Education, Industries & Commerce and Public Enterprises, Revenue and Disaster Management, and Finance, and aims to underline Assam Government's commitment to the overall development of the state and the well-being of its people."It may be noted that this event marks a significant phase in the government's "12 Days of Development" ..

No Aadhaar card to persons who did not apply for NRC, says Assam govt

The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting in view of an infiltration attempt by citizens of trouble-hit Bangladesh, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said at a press conference here

Minister Sarbananda Sonowal pays tribute to martyrs of Assam movement

From 1979 to 1985, Assamese people fought against infiltrators... I pay my tributes to all those who sacrificed their lives for their country in the Assam movement, he said

Assam CM Sarma expands Cabinet, 4 new ministers take oath in Guwahati

Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya administered the oath of office to four new ministers - Prasanta Phookan, Kaushik Rai, Krishnendu Paul and Rupesh Gowala

Assam bans beef consumption in public, Kerala BJP vice-president disagrees

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Wednesday, announced the prohibition of beef consumption in restaurants, hotels, and public places

Serving beef, consumption in public places in Assam to be banned: Sarma

The Assam government has decided to ban serving and consumption of beef in restaurants, hotels and public places, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Wednesday. A decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet to amend the existing law on beef consumption to incorporate the new provisions. "We have decided to ban serving and consumption of beef in restaurants, hotel and public places," he told a press conference here. Sarma said the current law on beef consumption is strong but there has been no prohibition in consumption of beef at restaurants, hotels and religious or social gathering so far. "Now, we have decided to make the law stronger to put a complete ban on consumption of beef in public places too in Assam," he said. The chief minister said the meeting of the state cabinet, which he attended virtually from Delhi, also decided to broaden the road connecting Guwahati's Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi airport to the city from four lane to six lane. He said a cab

Situation in neighbouring Manipur will impact Assam, says Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday that the situation in neighbouring Manipur will have an impact on the state. Additional police forces have been deployed in Barak Valley which shares a border with violence-hit Manipur to ensure no spill-over effects. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Cachar district, Sarma said, I think the situation in Manipur will definitely have some impact on Assam. That is why we have deployed additional police forces in Barak Valley to see that nothing spills over to Assam." The Barak Valley of Cachar district shares a border with Jiribam of Manipur. The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes in Imphal Valley and the adjoining hills, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year. More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Z

Ready to ban beef in Assam if Congress writes to me: CM Himanta Sarma

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he was ready to ban beef in Assam if state Congress chief Bupen Kumar Borah writes to him, seeking such it. Responding to the allegation that BJP distributed beef to win the Muslim-dominated Samaguri, which was under Congress control for five consecutive terms, Sarma said he was happy that the opposition party raised the matter. "Samaguri was with Congress for 25 years. Congress losing a constituency like Samaguri by 27,000 votes (sic) is the biggest shame in its history. It is Congress's defeat more than BJP's win," he told reporters after a party meeting here on Saturday. BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah defeated Congress' Tanzil, son of party MP Rakibul Hussain, by 24,501 votes in a bypoll last month. "But amidst sadness, Rakibul Hussain said one good thing that eating beef is wrong, isn't it? He said that it was wrong for Congress-BJP to win elections by offering beef to voters," the CM said when asked about the MP's reported comment. "I want t

Assam will send teams to Jharkhand to study 'two-three things': CM Himanta

In a tit-for-tat response, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he would send two delegations to study a few things in Jharkhand, days after his counterpart Hemant Soren took a cabinet decision to despatch an all-party team to study the plight of tea tribes in the northeastern state. Sarma, however, did not specify the areas of concern for the Assam government for deciding to send inspection teams to Jharkhand. "In our cabinet on December 5, we will make some decisions regarding visiting some Jharkhand areas. We will also go and see two-three things there," he told reporters after a BJP meeting here on Saturday night when asked about the Jharkhand government's decision to send a team to Assam. Hours after JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand on November 28, his government approved the formation of an all-party panel to study the plight of the "marginalised" tea tribes in Assam. "We will be happy if somebody looks after us because we

Barring few incidents, Northeast free from law and order issue: Assam CM

ssam Chief Minister also proposed the establishment of tourism museums in New Delhi and Guwahati, which would play a crucial role in promoting Northeast India as a distinct tourism circuit

No appeasement, justice to all: Himanta outlines strategy for Assam polls

Sarma emphasised that the BJP would focus on at least five key constituencies in Assam, particularly those with significant religious minority voters

Assam to host business summit in February, PM Modi to inaugurate: CM Sarma

Assam will be hosting a two-day business summit in February next year with a focus on attracting investment and developing the state's infrastructure, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Sunday. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the 'Advantage Assam 2.0 - the Global Infrastructure and Investors' Summit' on February 24, with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to be invited for the valedictory session. "We hosted the first 'Advantage Assam' investment summit in 2018, which led to agreements for investments of Rs 1 lakh crore. But due to the COVID pandemic, we could not hold any follow-up meet, even though the state has been attracting investments," Sarma said, addressing a press conference here. He maintained that good governance and peace have contributed to the state emerging as an investment destination. "Taking it forward, we will be hosting the two-day summit in February. The prime minister has already accepted our invitation, and we ar

Constitutional duty of Soren govt to identify, deport infiltrators: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has urged the JMM-led alliance, which retained power in Jharkhand, to perform its constitutional duty of identifying and deporting infiltrators from the eastern state. Sarma, who was the BJP's co-in-charge for Jharkhand polls, also called upon the newly elected party MLAs to raise the issue of infiltration in the assembly, maintaining that the illegal migrants pose a serious threat to the eastern state. In a late Saturday night Facebook live, Sarma said, "I believe today also that the problem of infiltration will cause a lot of harm to Jharkhand in the coming days. It is your (JMM) government and I appeal to you to push back these infiltrators or at least identify them. It is your constitutional duty." "I believe that the Jharkhand government will fulfil this responsibility," the BJP leader, who had extensively raised the issue of infiltration in Jharkhand during his poll campaign, added. Sarma also appealed to the newly elected BJP MLAs to

Assam govt renames Karimganj district to Sribhumi; CM Sarma justifies move

The Assam government on Thursday changed the name of Karimganj district in the Barak Valley to Sribhumi, according to an official notification. The district headquarters Karimganj town has also been renamed Sribhumi town. "The Governor of Assam is pleased to rename the Karimganj district as Sribhumi district and Karimganj town as Sribhumi town," General Administration Department Principal Secretary Mukesh Chandra Sahu said in the notification. The changes will be applicable with immediate effect, it said. The Assam cabinet had on Tuesday decided to rename Karimganj district to Sribhumi. "Over 100 years ago, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had described modern-day Karimganj district in Assam as Sribhumi - the land of Maa Lakshmi. Today, the Assam cabinet has fulfilled this long-standing demand of our people," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said after the cabinet meeting. The decision to rename the district will reflect the expectations and aspirations of the people of the ...

Jharkhand election is for poor, youth, and Hindu pride, says Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said the Jharkhand election is for poor, youth, women and Hindu pride. He also accused the JMM-led government of allegedly not fulfilling any promise made during the 2019 elections. "Chief Minister Hemant Soren is busy talking about his wife, while his wife Kalpana Soren says 'ek hi nara Hemant dubara' (one slogan, Hemant for second time). I want to ask who will talk about youth, women and the poor in the state. This time no Hemant 'dubara' but poor and youth 'dubara'," Sarma said addressing an election rally at Mandu in Hazaribag district. He added, "This Jharkhand election is for poor, women and youth, besides Hindu pride and protection. This election is for Jharkhand's as well as country's development." Attacking Hemant Soren-led government for allegedly not fulfilling its promises, he said that the government had promised to provide five lakh jobs and unemployment allowances. "But, the government did not fulfil its promise. If

Assam: CM Himanta dismisses tree cutting controversy over Guwahati flyover

Amidst the ongoing row over cutting century-old trees to give way for a flyover, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed that a section of people have created "unnecessary controversy" to target the developmental works of the government. The Gauhati High Court on Tuesday slapped notices on Assam government over its plans to cut around 25 century-old trees for construction of a four-lane 5.05 km long flyover, the longest in the city, from Dighalipukhuri tank to Noonmati at a cost of Rs 852.68 crore. "For the last six months, I have been noticing that one particular circle is trying to create an unnecessary controversy regarding the flyover and trees of Dighalipukhuri," Sarma told reporters after visiting the construction site near the pond around midnight on Tuesday. He said the second controversy was shifting the statue of doyen of Assam literature Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa, and claimed that the flyover will pass above the statue and it will remain where it is .

Entire system of JMM fake: Himanta on controversy over Jharkhand CM's age

He further reacted to Congress leader Irfan Ansari's derogatory statements against BJP leader Sita Soren

J'khand will turn into mini-Bangladesh: Himanta warns of demographic shift

He also stressed on BJP's promise of implementing NRC in the state if it returns to power

JMM believes in dynastic politics; fields CM Soren, wife, brother: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday criticised the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha for dynastic politics, pointing to their candidate list that includes "husband, wife, and brother." Sarma, who is BJP's Jharkhand election co-in-charge, was referring to the JMM list that includes the names of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife and JMM MLA Kalpana Soren and brother Basan Soren. "The JMM's candidate list clearly reflects dynastic politics," he said, noting the familial connections among the candidates. He also suggested that the JMM lacks a diverse candidate pool, remarking that if needed, the BJP could supply additional candidates, referring to some leaders from the saffron party who have recently joined the JMM. Polling to the 81-member assembly in the state will be held on November 13 and November 20, and votes will be counted on November 23.

SC verdict on Assam Accord not historic, I've mixed reaction: Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday expressed a "mixed reaction of happiness and sorrow" regarding the Supreme Court judgment on the cut-off date of the Assam Accord. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official function on Sunday, Sarma emphasised that the Assamese people will have to move forward through "struggles." "I don't know if this judgment is historic or not. The government enacted the Assam Accord, so its stand in the court was that the cut-off date should be 1971. However, many people in Assam wished the cut-off date to be 1951," he said when asked for his comments on the judgment. In a majority verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act which grants Indian citizenship to immigrants who came to Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971. A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, said the Assam Accord was a political solution to the problem of