Frequent police encounters boundary disputes mark Assams 2021 as Himanta takes charge
Guwahati Dec 26 PTI A government change marked 2021 in Assam as BJPs Northeast strongman Himanta Biswa Sarma took over as the chief minister earning both bouquets and brickbats from varied quarters over his style of governance that drew accusations of heavy-handed tackling of the security situationSarma assumed power after leading the BJP together with Sarbananda Sonowal the incumbent chief minister in the March-April assembly elections decimating the 10-party opposition alliance comprising the Congress and Badruddin Ajmals AIUDFThough the BJP did not project a chief ministerial face Sarma was rewarded for his organisational skills as he helped the party secure a second consecutive term in office besides expanding its base in the NortheastSonowal who helmed the state since 2016 was accommodated in Prime Minister Narendra Modis Cabinet as Minister of Shipping and Ayush after being elected uncontested to the Rajya SabhaAs Sarma realised his long-cherished goal of becoming the states chief minister he gave a free-hand to the police leading to regular encountersHis government also extended the olive branch to banned militant groups such as ULFA while border disputes with neighbouring states marred his first few months in officeHe also steered the state through the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic ensuring the upgradation of health infrastructure and swift rollout of the vaccination driveSarmas free-hand to law enforcers led to over 80 police shootings that resulted in the killing of 32 people named in various criminal cases and injury to at least 57 othersThe opposition alleged police had turned trigger happy under Sarma but the chief minister was unfazed and asserted the authorities had full operational liberty to fight against criminals within the ambit of lawHe also ordered a clampdown on drug trafficking a menace in the Northeast leading to seizure of narcotics worth crores of rupees that were publicly burnt by the governmentSarmas government was also accused of targeting Muslims — from crackdown on encroachers belonging to the community to asking them to adopt family planning for population control besides bringing in a stringent cattle protection lawTwo people were killed during an eviction drive in Darrang district in September as clashes broke out between police and alleged encroachers At least 20 more were injured A video showing a photographer stomping on an injured protester in the throes of death went viral sparking outrageOn the first day in office Sarma gave a call to the banned ULFA for talks and the outfits chief Paresh Barua reciprocated by extending the unilateral ceasefire thriceMore than a thousand militants operating in the Bodoland Territorial Region BTR and the three hill districts of Dima Hasao Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong surrendered with their armsSarma the convenor of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance and the partys chief troubleshooter in the region faced his first major challenge as violence broke out at the Assam-Mizoram border with six police personnel and a civilian getting killed in Cachar district in JulyFlare-ups continued at the inter-state border even as the government formed a committee to resolve the issue The Assam government also took steps to resolve pending boundary disputes with Meghalaya Nagaland and Arunachal PradeshThe chief minister described the boundary disputes as the biggest stumbling block for the development of the regionThe state continued to battle the pandemic in 2021 with 5118 people dying of COVID-19 so far this year as against 1037 in the previous year The total number of cases rose to 620081 till date this year from last years 215939So far 36714946 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered — 21688360 first dose and 15026586 second doseAmid the raging pandemic the BJP secured 60 seats in the assembly polls while its partner AGP bagged nine and the UPPL sixThe opposition Mahajot which fell apart after the election could manage 50 seats in the 126-member assembly Firebrand leader-activist Akhil Gogoi who fought as an Independent also won becoming the first politician in the state to win an election from jailSarmas sustained efforts to expand the ruling benches also bore fruit with Congress MLAs Rupjyoti Kurmi of Mariani and Sushanta Borgohain of Thowra and AIUDFs Phani Talukdar of Bhabanipur switching over to the BJP and winning in bypollsCongress MLA Sashi Das of Raha announced that he would support the BJP while remaining in his partySarma also faced attacks by the opposition which accused a real estate company co-founded by his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma and BJP Kisan Morcha leader Ranjit Bhattacharya of illegally acquiring a government landDuring the year Assam celebrated boxer Lovlina Borgohain who became the first sportsperson from the state to win an Olympics medal She won a bronze at the Tokyo games PTI DG SK SOM SOM
Guwahati Dec 26 PTI A government change marked 2021 in Assam as BJPs Northeast strongman Himanta Biswa Sarma took over as the chief minister earning both bouquets and brickbats from varied quarters over his style of governance that drew accusations of heavy-handed tackling of the security situationSarma assumed power after leading the BJP together with Sarbananda Sonowal the incumbent chief minister in the March-April assembly elections decimating the 10-party opposition alliance comprising the Congress and Badruddin Ajmals AIUDFThough the BJP did not project a chief ministerial face Sarma was rewarded for his organisational skills as he helped the party secure a second consecutive term in office besides expanding its base in the NortheastSonowal who helmed the state since 2016 was accommodated in Prime Minister Narendra Modis Cabinet as Minister of Shipping and Ayush after being elected uncontested to the Rajya SabhaAs Sarma realised his long-cherished goal of becoming the states chief minister he gave a free-hand to the police leading to regular encountersHis government also extended the olive branch to banned militant groups such as ULFA while border disputes with neighbouring states marred his first few months in officeHe also steered the state through the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic ensuring the upgradation of health infrastructure and swift rollout of the vaccination driveSarmas free-hand to law enforcers led to over 80 police shootings that resulted in the killing of 32 people named in various criminal cases and injury to at least 57 othersThe opposition alleged police had turned trigger happy under Sarma but the chief minister was unfazed and asserted the authorities had full operational liberty to fight against criminals within the ambit of lawHe also ordered a clampdown on drug trafficking a menace in the Northeast leading to seizure of narcotics worth crores of rupees that were publicly burnt by the governmentSarmas government was also accused of targeting Muslims — from crackdown on encroachers belonging to the community to asking them to adopt family planning for population control besides bringing in a stringent cattle protection lawTwo people were killed during an eviction drive in Darrang district in September as clashes broke out between police and alleged encroachers At least 20 more were injured A video showing a photographer stomping on an injured protester in the throes of death went viral sparking outrageOn the first day in office Sarma gave a call to the banned ULFA for talks and the outfits chief Paresh Barua reciprocated by extending the unilateral ceasefire thriceMore than a thousand militants operating in the Bodoland Territorial Region BTR and the three hill districts of Dima Hasao Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong surrendered with their armsSarma the convenor of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance and the partys chief troubleshooter in the region faced his first major challenge as violence broke out at the Assam-Mizoram border with six police personnel and a civilian getting killed in Cachar district in JulyFlare-ups continued at the inter-state border even as the government formed a committee to resolve the issue The Assam government also took steps to resolve pending boundary disputes with Meghalaya Nagaland and Arunachal PradeshThe chief minister described the boundary disputes as the biggest stumbling block for the development of the regionThe state continued to battle the pandemic in 2021 with 5118 people dying of COVID-19 so far this year as against 1037 in the previous year The total number of cases rose to 620081 till date this year from last years 215939So far 36714946 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered — 21688360 first dose and 15026586 second doseAmid the raging pandemic the BJP secured 60 seats in the assembly polls while its partner AGP bagged nine and the UPPL sixThe opposition Mahajot which fell apart after the election could manage 50 seats in the 126-member assembly Firebrand leader-activist Akhil Gogoi who fought as an Independent also won becoming the first politician in the state to win an election from jailSarmas sustained efforts to expand the ruling benches also bore fruit with Congress MLAs Rupjyoti Kurmi of Mariani and Sushanta Borgohain of Thowra and AIUDFs Phani Talukdar of Bhabanipur switching over to the BJP and winning in bypollsCongress MLA Sashi Das of Raha announced that he would support the BJP while remaining in his partySarma also faced attacks by the opposition which accused a real estate company co-founded by his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma and BJP Kisan Morcha leader Ranjit Bhattacharya of illegally acquiring a government landDuring the year Assam celebrated boxer Lovlina Borgohain who became the first sportsperson from the state to win an Olympics medal She won a bronze at the Tokyo games PTI DG SK SOM SOM
