Himanta Biswa Sarma

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Himanta Biswa Sarma
Himanta Biswa Sarma,.jpg
Official Portrait, 2021
15th Chief Minister of Assam
Assumed office
10 May 2021
GovernorJagdish Mukhi
Preceded bySarbananda Sonowal
Minister of the Government of Assam
In office
24 May 2016 – 9 May 2021
Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal
MinistryFinance, Planning and Development, Health and Family Welfare, Education, Public Works
In office
2011–2014
Chief MinisterTarun Gogoi
MinistryFinance, Health & Family Welfare, Public Works, Transformation & Development
In office
2006–2011
Chief MinisterTarun Gogoi
MinistryHealth and Family Welfare, Finance, Public Works, Culture
Minister of State of the Government of Assam
In office
1 September 2004 – June 2006
Chief MinisterTarun Gogoi
MinistryFinance, Planning and Development
In office
7 June 2002 – 31 August 2004
Chief MinisterTarun Gogoi
MinistryAgriculture, Planning and Development
Member of the Assam Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
2001
Preceded byBhrigu Kumar Phukan
ConstituencyJalukbari
Personal details
Born (1969-02-01) 1 February 1969 (age 52)
Jorhat, Assam, India
CitizenshipIndia
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party (2015–present)
Other political
affiliations		Indian National Congress (1996–2015)
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 2001)​
ChildrenNandil (son), Sukanya (daughter)
ParentsKailash Nath Sarma
Mrinalini Devi
Alma mater
WebsiteHimanta Biswa Sarma
Nickname(s)Mama[1]

Himanta Biswa Sarma (born 1 February 1969) is an Indian politician who serves as the 15th and current senior Chief Minister of Assam.[2] A former member of the Indian National Congress political party, Sarma crossed the floor to join the Bharatiya Janata Party on 23 August 2015.[3] He is a Member of the Assam Legislative Assembly from Jalukbari, having first been elected in 2001.[4]

Sarma cited mismanagement by Rahul Gandhi as the reason for his defection from the Indian National Congress party. He led the BJP's successful state election campaign in 2016 and was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister on 24 May 2016. The BJP appointed him the convener (leader) of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a regional sub-group of the federal National Democratic Alliance (NDA), aimed at increasing the party's political strength in North-East India.[5] He is often called 'Mama' (meaning maternal uncle) by voters in Assam.[1]

Personal life[]

Sarma was born on 1 February 1969 in Jorhat[6] to Kailash Nath Sarma and Mrinalini Devi,[7] in a Assamese Bamun family. His family hails from Latima in Nalbari district.[8] Sarma married Riniki Bhuyan Sarma on 07-06-2001, with whom he has a son, Nandil Biswa Sarma,[9] who attended The Doon School,[10] and a daughter, Sukanya Sarma, who attended Mayo College Girls School.[7][11]

Education[]

Sarma was educated at Kamrup Academy School, Guwahati in 1985 and joined Cotton College, Guwahati for his undergraduate education. He was elected the General Secretary of Cotton College Students Union, serving from 1991 to 1992. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1990 and Master of Arts in 1992, both in political science, from the College. Thereafter, Sarma obtained a Bachelor of Laws from Government Law College, Guwahati, and became a solicitor in 1995. He practised law at the Gauhati High Court from 1996 to 2001. In 2001, he completed a Doctorate of Philosophy in political science from Gauhati University, defending his dissertation shortly before he was elected to public office.

Political career[]

Indian National Congress[]

Sarma was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly from Jalukbari for the first time in 2001 when he defeated Asom Gana Parishad leader Bhrigu Kumar Phukan. He was re-elected in 2006, then in 2011 for a third consecutive term[11] with a 78,000 vote margin.[12] Sarma held important portfolios (both state and cabinet) as Minister of State for Agriculture, Planning & Development, Finance, Health, Education, and Assam Accord Implementation from 2002 to 2014.[12][13]

He was made Cabinet Minister for Health in 2006, and in 2011 he was also entrusted with the additional charge of Education. During his tenure, three medical colleges in Jorhat, Barpeta and Tezpur were built. He also initiated work for five more medical colleges in Diphu, Nagaon, Dhubri, North Lakhimpur and Kokrajhar, which are now in various startup stages.[citation needed]

The Government of India, in its various annual reports, pointed out the achievements of the Health and Education departments in Assam. During Sarma's tenure, more than 50,000 teachers were appointed for the first time through TET after he abolished the interview system.[14]

Bharatiya Janata Party[]

After political disagreements with the former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Sarma resigned from all positions on 21 July 2014. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Jalukbari constituency until his resignation from the Assembly on 15 September 2015.[11][15] Sarma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 23 August 2015 at the residence of Amit Shah at New Delhi. He was appointed as the party's Convener of the Election Management Committee for the upcoming Assembly Elections in the state. In May 2016, Sarma won the Jalukbari constituency for the fourth consecutive term and was sworn in as Cabinet Minister on 24 May in Sonowal ministry, in the first BJP Government in North East India. He was allotted portfolios like Finance, Health & Family Welfare, Education, Planning & Development, Tourism, Pension & Public Grievances.[citation needed]

N. K. Singh along with the members, with the Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal and the Finance Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma at the 15th Finance Commission meeting with the Govt. of Assam

Chief Minister of Assam[]

Main article: Himanta Biswa Sarma ministry

On 10 May 2021, Sarma was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Assam, succeeding his colleague Sarbananda Sonowal.

Sarma urged Muslims to adopt "decent family planning" in June 2021. He also stressed the need for a new law against illegal cattle smuggling in Assam. [16]

Boundary dispute with Mizoram[]

On July 26, 2021, Assam Police and Mizoram Police, a sister state of Assam on its southern boundary, fired upon each other after Assam sent a large body of armed police along with district officials to ostensibly "maintain the status quo" of a nearly 150 years-long boundary dispute between Assam and Mizoram.

Assam lost six police personnel and a civilian in the firefight, while one youth from the Mizoram side suffered a gunshot wound on his upper thigh. Both sides have charged each other with opening fire first. Many people are of the opinion that the clash between two state police had been avoidable.

This is because Chief Ministers of the North East India had been in a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Shillong, during his two-day visit to the NER to thrash out problems faced by them, which included the boundary dispute between Assam and Mizoram which had been on an increase during the last two-three months.

Though Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have boundary disputes with Assam, there were no news reports about any dialogue on boundary issues of the three other states.

Reports from news media indicate that on July 24, 2021, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Zoramthanga had a one-to-one talk about the boundary dispute where both agreed to settle the matter amicably through talks. Before this could take place, and only two days after the two Chief Ministers held their talks, Assam's initiative in "maintaining status quo" erupted into an incident that shocked the whole nation. Rationalist thinking says the incident could have been avoided if Assam had not sent in the police force to a hotly disputed area since it had been settled that talks would be held.[17] In a retaliatory move, armed Assam Police personnel crossed over to Mizoram and an overran police post.[18]

Days after skirmishes on inter-state border-left six Assam Police personnel dead and dozens of others injured, the Assam government on 29 July 2021 issued a travel advisory, asking people of the state not to travel to Mizoram - first such travel advisory by a state in the independent India.[19] Himanta retracted from this advisory a day later.[20] Further, Assam's Home and Political Department 29 July, said the police should carry out an intensive drive against drugs and check “all vehicles entering into Assam from Mizoram”.[21] The Home Department of the Government of Mizoram issued a press release in response to Assam Government’s order which said: “It is unfortunate to learn that the Government of Assam instructed its police to check all vehicles entering into Assam from Mizoram due to reported seizure of illicit drugs in Assam recently which were alleged to have been trafficked from across the border via Mizoram into the territory of Assam.” [22]

Sport administrator[]

On 23 April 2017, Sarma was unanimously elected as President of Badminton Association of India. Sarma has been the president of the Assam Badminton Association. He also became the president of the Assam Cricket Association in June 2016 when his party man Pradip Buragohain became the secretary.[23][24][25][26] Sarma was also the longest-serving vice president of the association serving from 2002 to 2016.

Controversy[]

In November 2020, Biswa posted on social media, falsely claiming that supporters of AIUDF politician Badruddin Ajmal had shouted slogans in support of Pakistan to greet him, on his arrival at Silchar airport. Biswa's claim was reiterated by an Assamese news channel, News Live, which is owned by Biswa's wife, and then also confirmed by several news channels and newspapers, including Times Now, CNN News18, and The New Indian Express. Biswa's posts were flagged by Facebook as misinformation and blocked from being shared, after independent third-party fact-checkers examined videos of the event, and demonstrated that the slogans shouted had consisted of the names of political leaders and not in support of Pakistan. Guwahati Police have since registered a First Information Report against Biswa and are investigating him "promoting enmity" between groups of persons, which is an offence under the Indian Penal Code, as well as for offences under the Information Technology Act.[27][28][29][30][31][32] Though Sarma was implicated in the Manabendra Sarma case he was acquitted by the court. Though Akhil Gogoi and former Chief Minister Prafulla Mahanta often brought various allegation , he was exonerated by the court[33][34][35][36][37]

In April 2021, Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that there is no need to wear masks in the state as there is no more coronavirus,[38] when India was undergoing the second wave of Covid-19.

In the same month, he appealed to all opposition legislators to join the ruling BJP. [39]

A Delhi-based advocate from Assam has lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against the Assam police “on an encounter spree” since Sarma stated in the police conference that police should shoot alleged criminals at legs which are permitted by the law[40]


References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Dipankar Roy (10 May 2021). "Everyone's 'Mama' is Assam's Next CM: Himanta Biswa Sarma's Own Mettle Has Catapulted Him to the Top". News18.
  2. ^ "Himanta Biswa Sarma to take oath as 15th Assam Chief Minister, elected legislative chief". Republic World. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Himanta Biswa Sarma: In 2016 Assam election, Bangladeshi immigrants want their own CM too". Indian Express. 15 February 2016.
  4. ^ "I told Rahul Gandhi you will not cross 25 seats, he said we will win: BJP MLA Himanta Biswa Sarma". 20 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Former Gogoi close aide Himanta Biswa Sarma named convener of NDA's northeast alliance". dna. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  6. ^ "The Dainik Janambhumi - An Assamese News Paper". dainikjanambhumi.co.in. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Who's Who". www.assamassembly.gov.in. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  8. ^ "BJP's Troubleshooter, NE's Most Influential Politician Himanta Biswa Sarma to Take Oath as Assam CM Today". india.com. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Assam: Don't want my son to step into politics, says Himanta Biswa Sarma".
  10. ^ "Himanta's son Nandil becomes captain of prestigious Doon School". Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma" (PDF). Government of Assam. Retrieved 30 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b IANS (15 September 2015). "Former Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Quits Assembly". NDTV. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Himanta Biswa Sarma". Business Standard India. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  14. ^ Rahman, Daulat (21 August 2015) Interviews back for college teachers. Telegraph India
  15. ^ Himanta resigns from MLA post. Telegraph India (15 September 2015)
  16. ^ "Adopt 'decent family planning' policy to reduce poverty: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma tells Muslims". Scroll.in. Scroll. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  17. ^ Does Assam CM’s belligerence over border dispute mark turn from coalition builder to regional bully?
  18. ^ Armed Assam Police personnel crossed over to Mizoram, overran police post: CM Zoramthanga
  19. ^ Do not visit Mizoram: Assam travel advisory for its people
  20. ^ No curbs on travel to Mizoram, says Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
  21. ^ Mizoram says Assam govt order on checking of vehicles for drugs ‘harassment’, writes to MHA
  22. ^ Mizoram Govt condemns Assam’s order to check all vehicles from Mizoram
  23. ^ Himanta Biswa Sarma becomes ACA chief. Assam Tribune (13 June 2016). Retrieved on 31 August 2017.
  24. ^ "Site Under Construction". Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  25. ^ High voltage AGM at Barsapara today Archived 8 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Sentinelassam.com. Retrieved on 31 August 2017.
  26. ^ Himanta Biswa Sarma Set To Become New Assam Cricket Association Chief. Ndtv.com (11 June 2016). Retrieved on 31 August 2017.
  27. ^ "Himanta Biswa Sarma booked for false claim on social media: Police". The Indian Express. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Case Registered Against Himanta Biswa Sarma For False Claim On Social Media: Police". NDTV.com. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  29. ^ "BJP's Himanta Biswa, media falsely claim 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans raised by AIUDF supporters". Alt News. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  30. ^ Nath, Hemanta Kumar (10 November 2020). "Case registered against Assam minister Himanta Biswa for false claim on social media". India Today. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  31. ^ "Senior Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Booked for False Claim on Social Media: Police". News18. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  32. ^ "Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma booked for false claims on social media, say police". Scroll.in. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  33. ^ http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/rti-activist-has--proof--of-assam-health-minister-s-ulfa-past/645184
  34. ^ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/akhil-sees-sarma-hand-in-diary-theft/articleshow/6225071.cms
  35. ^ https://www.timesofassam.com/tag/manabendra-sharma-murder-case/
  36. ^ https://www.pratidintime.com/himanta-involved-in-manabendra-murder-case-pk-mahanta/
  37. ^ https://thewire.in/politics/louis-berger-himanta-biswa-sarma-assam
  38. ^ "'No need for masks, coronavirus is gone in Assam,' says health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma". Business Today. Business Today. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  39. ^ "Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma appeals to opposition MLAs to join BJP". Economic Times. Economic Times. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  40. ^ Special Correspondence (11 July 2021). "Assam police on 'encounter spree', NHRC told". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 July 2021.

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