Lotus will bloom again in Assam, says JP Nadda; assures to preserve language & culture of Assam

Jan. 11: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to capture the state assembly in 2021 and retain power which it wrestled from the Congress in 2016. The elections for the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly is supposed to be held in March-April, 2021. The bugle call for the great political battle in the state was played by the national President of BJP, Jagat Prakash Nadda on Monday while taking part in a public meeting in South Assam’s Silchar.

Silchar MP Dr. Rajdeep Roy tried to set the stage by introducing the party President having a strong Bengali connection as his wife is a Bengali. However, JP Nadda in his speech failed to touch the emotion of the Bengali speaking populace of Barak Valley and rather emphasised to give due recognition to the culture, language and identity of Assam.

He showered lavish praises for the Assam Agitation and stated that it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was vocal in support of the agitation both inside and outside the Parliament. Addressing Vijay Sankalpa Samabesh at Police Parade Ground, Silchar, Nadda said, “It is the responsibility of BJP to safeguard the culture and language of Assam.” Mr. Nadda even tried to utter some Assamese words during his speech in Silchar inspite of the fact that Bengali is the lingua franca of southern Assam.

कांग्रेस के जमाने में लाखों लोग ऐसे थे जिनको पता ही नहीं था, उनकी जमीन होकर भी वो जमीन के अधिकारी नहीं थे।

ब्रह्मपुत्र वैली और बराक वैली में पहले चरण में 1,10,000 लोगों को जमीन का पट्टा दिया गया है और दूसरे चरण में फिर से लगभग इतनी ही बड़ी संख्या को जमीन का अधिकार दिया जाएगा। pic.twitter.com/veqYa9Vsd7

— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) January 11, 2021

His speech characterized by harping on the Assamese culture and tradition was something alien to the Bengali populace of Barak Valley. When in 1961, Assamese was made the medium of instruction throughout Assam, a strong movement broke out in the valley and as a result on 19 May, 1961, eleven youths lost their lives at Silchar Railway Station in police firing. Since then, almost 60 years have elapsed, yet these martyr’s have still failed to earn their due recognition from the state government. The Assam Agitation referred to and praised by JP Nadda was again the cause of harassment of a large section of Bengalees. Many Bengali students who were studying during the Assam Agitation in University & colleges were compelled to run away overnight from Guwahati to save their lives.

Apart from praising Assam agitation and his resolve to preserve Assamese culture, Nadda’s in his speech also offered tributes to Sankardeva and Madhabdeva. He also remembered with great respect Gopinath Bordoloi and Dr. Bhupen Hazarika. He also said that the BJP government has solved the 50-year-old Bodo issue by signing a peace accord and bringing militants to the mainstream. He said that the Bru-Reang crisis, too, was solved by the Modi government. He expressed confidence that lotus will bloom once again during the 2021 Assam Assembly polls.

However, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in his speech stressed on the issue of protecting the interests of the Bengali’s. He assured of the safety and security of the Bengali populace in Assam. Though he did not mention anything about Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), yet CM Sonowal said that BJP government wil give security to the Hindu- Bengalees.

Earlier, during the day, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, finance minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and state BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Das on Monday welcomed BJP national president JP Nadda at Silchar Aiport. Nadda who is on a two-day tour in Assam is also scheduled to attend a meeting with state party leadership.