Assam has been in the grip of a devastating flood and landslides that have claimed more than 100 lives so far. The deluge has affected over three million people who are in dire straits. But it seems there is a “bigger crisis” which has kept the entire nation’s focus fixed on Assam.
As many as 38
rebel Shiv Sena leaders
are currently camping in Assam’s capital Guwahati and probably hatching a conspiracy to topple the three-party coalition government led by
Uddhav Thackeray
. The almost week-long political drama involving dozens of Sena legislators has kept the local police and administration busy, at a time when they have more pressing issues to attend to.
Chief minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma
on Friday sought to downplay the issue saying all “tourists” are welcome in Assam.
A leading Assamese daily reported the daily food bill of these rebel MLAs, who are lodged at a luxury hotel in the city, is around Rs 8 lakh. A total of 70 rooms of Radisson Blu are being occupied by these ‘tourists’. And all this would surely run into several crores of rupees.
The million dollar question is – why Assam, why not any other state? Sarma said he has nothing to do with the politics of Maharashtra.
“Some people have come to Assam. They booked hotels. I am happy for that. You also come, it will help Assam’s economy. Through this, Assam’s tourism is also getting promoted,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
On Friday, Sarma was among the galaxy of BJP leaders who accompanied NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu while filing her nominations at Parliament complex, in the national capital.
Reacting to the claims that
Assam government
was allegedly ignoring flood relief work and busy hosting the MLAs from Maharashtra, Sarma said he cannot order closure of hotels in Guwahati due to “floods in some parts of the state”.
“We have spent so much money to promote tourism, (we say) visit Kamakhya, visit Kaziranga, now, should I stop those who have come to Assam,” he added.
But the fact is that the 38 “tourists” from Maharashtra have not stepped out of the hotel since he checked in earlier this week. And the
Kaziranga National Park
is closed during the rainy season.
So, one is left wondering how these tourists are killing their time in a Guwahati hotel. Perhaps, Sarma, seen as one of BJP’s master strategists, has a ready-made answer to this query.
The NE tribal leader who nearly became President
Before Droupadi Murmu, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had backed an influential tribal leader from the northeast. But that was a decade ago and the party was not in power back then.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker, late Purno Agitok Sangma, belonged to the
Garo tribe
of the northeast. He served as chief minister of Meghalaya from 1980 to 1990. He represented the Tura Lok Sabha constituency for several terms until his death in 2016. The seat is now held by his daughter Agatha. His son Conrad is the current CM of Meghalaya.
PA Sangma was a staunch Congressman but in 1999, he became a part of the group which revolted over the issue of Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin. Subsequently, he joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) floated by Sharad Pawar.
During the 2012 Presidential election, the BJP, which was the main opposition party, supported his candidature while the Congress-led ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) proposed the name of former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Sangma hogged the limelight when he challenged Mukherjee’s election as the President, in the Supreme Court. He claimed that Mukherjee was holding an office of profit as chairman of the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata and as the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha when he contested the election.
In December 2012, the top court turned down Sangma’s petition, saying it is not maintainable for regular hearing.
‘No encounter killings, but killed in police action’
The Assam government carefully crafted its reply to a directive issued by the Gauhati high court, which is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) on alleged
extrajudicial killings
.
In an affidavit, the state Home Department said earlier this week that 51 people died and 139 were injured “in police action” between May 2021 and May 31, 2022.
The government claimed that no extrajudicial killings have taken place during this period, according to the affidavit quoted by a local English daily. This is the second affidavit filed by the BJP-led state government in the case.
The PIL filed by Delhi-based lawyer and activist Arif Jwadder sought a probe into alleged fake encounters by an independent agency such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the court.
He alleged that all the “victims were unarmed and handcuffed at the time of the encounter”, claiming that those killed or injured “were not dreaded criminals”.
Earlier this year, the Union home ministry said in a written reply in Parliament that 655 cases of death in
police encounters
were registered across the country, with Assam recording the third-highest cases at 50. Maoist-infested Chhattisgarh topped the list with 191 deaths, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 117.
It’s yet to be seen if the Assam government can steer clear of the allegation of extrajudicial killings levelled by the PIL. The next date of hearing is scheduled for the third week of July.
