Page 18 - Himanta Biswa Sarma

People in Assam's Biswanath celebrate after getting district status

Earlier, on December 31 last year, the Assam cabinet had decided to merge four districts with their parent districts

No concept of old and new BJP, anybody can join with missed call: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma dismissed the "old BJP versus new BJP debate and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president J P Nadda have made it amply clear that anyone can join the saffron party by giving a missed call to achieve 'Congress-mukt' India. He made the remarks on Tuesday amidst an apparent tussle between some of BJP's old guard in Assam and those who have joined the party in recent times. Sarma asserted that he himself, his predecessor Sarbananda Sonowal, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, and former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai were the so-called new BJP" people. There is nothing called new or old BJP. Had the party thought in that way, do you think Sonowal or Himanta Biswa Sarma could have become the chief minister (of Assam)? he told reporters here in response to a question about the tussle within the Assam BJP unit. Sar

Assam CM asks officials to involve more people for planting 10 mn saplings

The large-scale plantation drive will take place on September 17

80% of decisions taken by Assam CM Sarma-led cabinet implemented in state

On May 10 in 2021, Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in as the 15th Chief Minister of Assam.

Assam far from being self-sufficient in egg, meat production: CM Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the state is far from becoming self-reliant in egg and meat production. Attending the closing ceremony of the Platinum Jubilee Celebration of the College of Veterinary Science here, Sarma said that a State Health Mission for the veterinary sector will be launched soon. "Assam is far from attaining self-sufficiency in meeting the demand for egg and meat products. An ecosystem needs to be built that will unleash the state's growth potential in these fields," he added. Sarma said that to meet the country's milk demand by 2030, milk production shall have to grow at the rate of seven per cent year-on-year for the next seven years and Assam has immense potential for growth in this field. "In comparison to other states in the country, the Northeastern region and Assam are yet to make the best use of the opportunities the agriculture sector offers. In order to compete with Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and other states, an ecosystem that .

Assam to create sub-districts in all assembly constituencies: Himanta

The state government will start a series of administrative reforms within the next one month, he added

Assam mulls full withdrawal of AFSPA by year-end: CM Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said his government will take necessary steps to withdraw AFSPA from the entire state by the end of this year. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) is now limited to only eight districts of the northeastern state, he said. Hoisting the national flag on the occasion of the 77th Independence Day here, Sarma also said around 8,000 "revolutionaries" have returned to the mainstream in the last three years. "I want to assure the people of Assam that by the end of this year, we will take fruitful steps to withdraw the AFSPA from every district of Assam. That will be an 'amritmoy' time for Assam's history and we are eagerly waiting for that day," he said. Since the beginning of its application in the state more than three decades ago, the extension of the AFSPA was recommended 62 times, Sarma said. "The northeast region is now free from terrorism. In the last three years, four peace accords have been signed with ...

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Opposition's walkout from Lok Sabha exposed their design: Assam CM

The chief minister also praised PM Modi's speech and said he spoke from his heart adding that he showed his affection for the people of Manipur

Assam delimitation: Oppn cries foul, CM says some request' for changes met

Opposition parties in Assam on Friday criticised the final report on delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies and termed it a ploy by the ruling BJP to safeguard its political future. They also maintained that the Election Commission of India (ECI), which carried out the process, has failed to address the objections placed before it by the political parties as well as individuals and other organisations. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has, however, claimed that the final notification has accepted some of the suggestions placed by the state government in line with the demands of people. In its final order, the poll panel had kept intact the number of assembly constituencies at 126 and Lok Sabha seats at 14, while revising the nomenclature of one parliamentary and 19 assembly constituencies as mentioned in the draft notification. According to an ECI statement, 19 assembly and two Lok Sabha constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs). One Lok Sabh

Assam to table bill to end polygamy within this fiscal year: Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that his government will try to table the bill in the Budget Session of the Assembly in 2023

Parts of SC verdict on Rahul not highlighted amidst 'celebrations': Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that certain parts of the Supreme Court's judgment, which stayed the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case, were not highlighted amidst "so-called celebrations". The senior BJP leader posted on Twitter parts of the verdict, including the one in which the apex court asked Gandhi to exercise restraint while making public speeches. ''Para 8 -- the Supreme Court states - the utterances by Rahul Gandhi are not in good taste. A person in public life is expected to exercise a degree of restraint while making public speeches and he ought to have been more careful," he tweeted. Sarma said the order has a ''clear reference to Rahul Gandhi's 2019 contempt case in the Hon'ble Supreme Court underlining his credibility as a repeat offender''. He also pointed out that in Para 12, ''the Hon'ble SC makes it clear that the stay will not influence the ongoing appeal process at the lower court''. Following the Supreme

Govt employees play major role in execution of pro-people policies: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that officials and other staff members of the state government have a major role to play in the fruitful implementation of pro-people policies of the government. The commitment of the officers and employees towards their duties and assigned tasks was indispensable for a welfare state, Sarma said at the Lok Kalyan Diwas programme organised to pay tribute to the state's first Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi here. A Lok Sewa Adhikar Aayog will also be established soon with the aim of expediting the speed of public services delivery, he said. ''The officials and government employees are one of the main pillars of public services and so on this day we award state government employees who have displayed exemplary dedication towards their assigned duties'', Sarma said. The awards are in two categories- Lok Sewa Awards (for non-gazetted employees) and Karmashree Awards (for gazetted employees) and this year, 75 employees were selec

Assam govt outreach drive: CM, ministers to visit over 25,000 villages

The Assam Chief Minister, ministers, senior government officers, and other staff will visit 25,501 villages across the state over a period of 15 days

Om Birla to inaugurate new building of Assam Legislative Assembly today

All existing and former Parliamentarians, members of the Assam Legislative Assembly, and other invitees will be present on the occasion

Rohingya infiltration 'alarming' and threat to nation's security: Assam CM

Infiltration by Rohingyas from Bangladesh through Assam's Karimganj district is 'alarming' and a threat to national security, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday. There is a network of brokers who bring the Rohingyas into Tripura, from there to Karimganj in Assam and then the rest of the country, the chief minister said while addressing a press conference at the conclusion of the two-day conference of superintendents of police in Bongaigaon. ''Five police teams from Assam are currently in Tripura and working with the state government to act against the brokers,'' he said. The situation is alarming and anyone entering the country illegally without valid papers is a threat to the security of the country, Sarma added. ''We have already informed the Centre and sought help from central agencies along with the cooperation of the Tripura government'', he added. The Rohingyas do not stay in Assam but move to other parts of the country, he added. ''We, however, adopted the

Assam CM blames Miyas' for soaring vegetable prices; opposition slams

Spiralling vegetable prices in Assam's largest city Guwahati has triggered a war of words between political opponents, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's blaming Miyas' for the escalating rates drawing sharp reactions from opposition parties. While AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal said Miyas' have been hurt' by the CM's comment, Congress and other opposition parties sniffed a collusion between the BJP and the AIUDF in communal politics' ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections. Sarma, while responding to reporters' questions on high price of veggies in Guwahati, had said, "Vegetables are not priced so high in villages. Here the Miya vendors charge us more. Had it been Assamese vendors selling vegetables, they wouldn't have fleeced their own people." "I will clear all the footpaths of Guwahati and I urge our Assamese people to come forward and start their businesses," he added. Bengali-speaking Muslims are generally referred to as Miyas' in the state, with the community largely ..

No reshuffle in cabinet, major changes after Lok Sabha polls: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday ruled out any reshuffle in his ministry, but said "big changes" will take place after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and before the 2026 state Assembly election. Sarma also said he has met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and apprised him of the flood situation in the northeastern state. "There will be no reshuffle (in the Assam cabinet) till the Lok Sabha polls. However, there will definitely be big changes after the Lok Sabha polls and before the (2026) Assembly election," he said here. Sarma also ruled out the possibility of any change in the leadership of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Assam unit. "The state unit president of the BJP normally completes his tenure. A president has a fixed tenure. No change takes place halfway," he said. Asked about the ongoing delimitation exercise of the Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam, Sarma said there is no opposition to it, adding that certain issues have cropped up relat

Assam CM creating divide between Muslims, Asamese people: Badruddin Ajmal

The AIUDF chief alleged further that Sarma's statement creates a chasm between the Muslims and the other Asamese people, including the youth

1.2mn houses constructed in Assam under PMAY-G in last 7 years: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday claimed that 12 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Grameen) have been constructed in the state in the last seven years. He claimed that of the 12 lakh houses constructed during the BJP rule in the state, 8.39 lakh have been built in the last two years during his tenure as the chief minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set the target of constructing 19.10 lakh houses till 2024, and of those, 12.43 lakh have been constructed, Sarma said at a function of the 'Griha Pravesh' programme for three lakh beneficiaries. "The state government has been taking all measures to give shape to the prime minister's vision of ensuring housing for all by 2024 and is implementing the provisions of PMAY (Grameen) in letter and spirit," he said. In the last three months, 3.06 lakh houses under PMAY-G have been completed, he said. The beneficiaries are being provided with an amount of Rs 1.30 lakh each in three installments in dire