Assam Former CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta's Father Dies at 99

GUWAHATI: Former Assam CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta's father and the Satradhikar of the Sri Sri Rupnarayan Khamusia Satra, Deba Kanta Mahanta passed away at his residence in Kaliabor town of Nagaon district on Sunday night at a ripe old age of 99. 

According to the family sources, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta will arrive at his ancestral home in Uluwani in the Kaliabor constituency on Monday at 6 am to perform the last rites of his father. 

Deba Kanta Mahanta leaves behind his three sons, a daughter-in-law, a daughter, and three grandchildren.

Notably, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta lost his mother 12 years back. 

Mahanta served two terms as Assam's Chief Minister, the first from 1985-1990 and the second term from 1996-2001. Mahanta and his brigade after gaining massive public support won the 1985 assembly election by sweeping the polls with 92 seats thus making Mahanta the youngest chief minister of the state when he ascended the CM seat at the young age of 33.

Mahanta has always been against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Though Mahanta's party AGP offered their support to the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, Mahanta remained adamant and did not offer his support and also protested by not casting his vote in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. 

Mahanta is not happy with the friendly tie between AGP and the ruling BJP and he in a statement said that "AGP was formed to voice Assamese people's opinion and if the Assamese population is against this bill, AGP should respect it and cut its ties with the BJP and thus standing with the people of Assam" 

"It will destroy the social and ethnic fabric of Assam and the northeast," he said in a statement when asked about the controversial bill. 

After the bill was tabled in 2019, Mahanta displayed his angst and said "It was unfortunate that we voted in favour of Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha."

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