Himanta Biswa Sarma took oath as the 15th Chief Minister of Assam on 10th May along with 13 other cabinet ministers. In his first press conference as the CM, he announced that the first cabinet meeting of the newly formed government will be held tomorrow, i.e. 11th May. He promised to take up the COVID-19 situation with renewed vigour after taking office.
Sarma assured that his cabinet will fulfill all the promises made in the BJP manifesto ahead of the assembly elections in a time bound manner. These include employment for 1 lakh youths of the state, complete implementation of the Arunodoi scheme and a flood-free Assam amongst others.
The new Chief Minister of Assam has urged ULFA (I) and other militant groups to surrender arms and come for peace talks with the government.
He said that Assam currently has Rs. 7,000 crores in the treasury, and Assam is in one of the best fiscal situations of the country. As for the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Sarma said that the new government wishes to re-check 20 percent of the NRC in the border areas and 10 percent in the other areas. He said, “If after this revision it is found that the old NRC is correct, than we will accept the current one and move forward. But if major differences are noticed, we will move the Honourable Court to take necessary action.”
“Our government will do our best to solve all concerns regarding the indigenous people of Assam after consulting with the citizens,” Himanta Biswa Sarma added.
CM Sarma has also promised strict action against those involved in crime against women in Assam. “Women of Assam should free and safe.”
When asked about his vision for the state he said, “Assam is rapidly developing in all sectors, be it in development of road network, GDP growth, education, literacy rate etc. In our government’s first budget we will work on this further.”
He concluded by saying, “Every promise that we made in the elections are solemn for us and we will do everything possible to turn them into reality.”