Even After 5 Days, Assam's Wait for its Next CM, Govt Continues, Isn't this Insult to the People's Mandate?

Guwahati Reporter:

Who Will Be Next CM of Assam?: The people of Assam's wait for its next CM continues. It has been five days since the Assam election results were announced on May 2, Sunday, yet no sign of any announcement about who will be the state's next CM. The state is in limbo. Let us not forget that Assam too is in the middle of a massive fight against COVID as the numbers are rising every day.

Soon after the assam results were announced, there was news that Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been given the responsibility to act as the observer of BJP's parliamentary committee, meet the elected MLAs and discuss the important issue of selecting the next CM of Assam and set the ball rolling for Assam's next government and the Council of Ministers. But news later came in that he had postponed his visit. The BJP top brass got busy with managing things in West Bengal.

Fixing issues in West Bengal and putting an end to violence in that state is definitely important but what most people of Assam are feeling is that Assam and its people are being neglected, being treated as a step-child one more time.

It is Friday today, Assam's over 3 crore population is still waiting. Many are forced to ask – Is this not an insult to the clear verdict given by a large chunk of the 2.33 crore voters of Assam? Is this not similar to disrespecting, disregarding the people of Assam's voice and choice? Does this once again prove that Assam is not that important for the Centre (irrespective of who is at the Centre) when it comes to the larger scheme of things?

The two other states – West Bengal and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry, whose results were announced on May 2, the same day as Assam, their Chief Ministers have been sworn in, the council of ministers selected and work has begun.

In Kerala, CM Pinarayi Viyajan will be sworn in for a second term on May 20 due to the COVID situation. In Puducherry, N Rangaswamy was sworn in today afternoon and DMK leader M K Stalin was sworn in as the CM of Tamil Nadu this morning. Mamata Banerjee was sworn in for her third term on Wednesday (May 5).

In the case of Assam, what is sad is that even after almost a week (just 2 days to go for the week to end) of the poll results, the people of the state still do not know who is going to be their next CM. Is this not like hurting the people of Assam's sentiments, yet again?

Thanks to the efforts of the outgoing Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that the state has not turned into a Delhi or a Maharashtra and people are not dropping dead like flies due to COVID. Once again he is leading from the front, arranging for oxygen, hospital beds, visiting crematoriums and doing everything that needs to be done so that people do not suffer amid the second wave of the COVID pandemic which has turned out to be many times deadlier than the first wave. But for how long? Government machinery has to be put in place at the earliest because there are a lot of issues including matters of finance (which is very crucial when a state is fighting a pandemic like COVID) which only an officially installed government can handle.

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