CM Himanta Biswa Sarma to place report card on 100th Cabinet meeting

 ‘If the government signs a pact with the pro-talk ULFA, that may pave the way for talks with the Paresh Barua faction’

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Ministry will hold the 100th meeting of its Cabinet on August 25 in Guwahati, where the Chief Minister will place the report card of the Cabinet, including implementation of its decisions since the beginning. The Chief Minister hopes that his government will hold talks with the ULFA shortly.

After holding a video conference with the district commissioners from New Delhi regarding the Amrit Brikshya Andolan (tree plantation movement) in the state and a few other issues this evening, the Chief briefed the media. He said, “We have already held 99 Cabinet meetings, and on August 25, we will hold the 100th Cabinet meeting. Since the beginning, we have made over 1,300 decisions. We will place a report to this effect on August 25, clearly mentioning the numbers of decisions taken and implemented.”

On the proposed sub-districts, the Chief Minister said, “After the delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies, we are going to create sub-districts. We discussed this matter with the DCs today through video conferencing.”

When asked about the latest talks between the Government of India and the pro-talk faction of the ULFA, the Chief Minister said, “I have been in Delhi for the ULFA talks. However, the Paresh Baruah faction of the ULFA and the pro-talk ULFA aren’t interested in holding talks with the government together. Paresh Baruah sometimes says that he will see the outcome of the talks between the government and the pro-talk ULFA faction. One of the main demands of the pro-talk ULFA is the reservation of the Assembly constituencies in the state for the Assamese people. However, the delimitation exercise has fulfilled their demand. Thus, the atmosphere is now conducive to a serious phase of the dialogue. The Centre has sought feedback from me and the State government. We have already given our feedback. If the government reaches an agreement with the pro-talk faction of the ULFA, that may pave the way for talks with the faction of the outfit demanding independence for Assam. We have taken the ULFA issue seriously.”

When asked about the recent suicide of BJP leader Indrani Tahbildar, he said, “Amidst the sad incident, we have seen a glimmer of hope. A section of people took cash with the promise of providing jobs, could not ensure the promised jobs, and failed to return the cash. The incident occurred based on such incidents. It has proved beyond doubt that no one got jobs by paying money. During the police investigation, nobody has claimed to have got jobs by paying money. The police are investigating if anyone instigated her to commit suicide. The police are also ascertaining who has viralized her photo.”

When asked about senior BJP leader Rajen Gohain’s resignation from his Cabinet-rank official post, he said, “After his resignation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah called Rajen Gohain to New Delhi. I have not followed up on what they talked about.”

When asked about the present gossip mill active over new and old BJP leaders, he said, “The party has nothing to say about new and old BJP leaders. The BJP has so far made two Chief Ministers in Assam, and both of them are new BJP leaders. This is because the BJP has a broad mind. Had the BJP been anything like the new and old BJP leaders, would Sarbananda Sonowal and I have become Chief Ministers? Unfortunately, only the media talks about old and new BJP leaders. Some of the BJP leaders also make emotional outbursts before the media. The BJP wants to free India from the Congress. Thus, new people will continue to join the BJP. The new and old BJP, to an extent, is also a sponsored plan of the Congress.”

The Chief Minister also said that the State Government’s one crore Amrit Brikshya Andolan (tree plantation movement) has received a good response from the people, and the government has decided to involve more and more people so that it can exceed the set target on a single day.

Sarma instructed the Deputy Commissioners to hold programmes in schools and institutions tomorrow, the moment Chandrayaan 3 lands on the moon. He asked them to make arrangements for the installation of giant screens and TV sets to display the historic moment.

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