Guwahati, Feb 15: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that “as long as the incumbent government is doing good work, there is no need for an Opposition in the state.”
Speaking to mediapersons in Jorhat, Sarma said, “There is no need for an Opposition in the state if the ruling party is performing and doing good work. However, in a democracy, if the ruling party under-performs or fails, then the Opposition can become strong and raise its voice.”
The chief minister had, in the backdrop of two seasoned Congress MLAs extending unconditional support to the BJP government on Wednesday, said, “Assam will become a state where all MLAs will support the state and central government.”
Sarma said that several Congress legislators have expressed their desire to join the BJP. “It is difficult to accommodate everyone though even as I am trying to create slots every year to bring them to our fold.”
Reacting to his pledge (taken in 2021) of making Assam one of the top five states in India in the next five years, Sarma said, “We had decided to take the state forward during the tenure (2016-2021) of chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal itself. However, development took a backseat in Assam owing to the CAA agitation, which had taken the state backwards.”
“But we decided to start afresh in 2021. If the people of Assam give us 10 years to work, without any agitation, we can certainly make Assam a formidable state in the country,” the chief minister said.
The chief minister further said that the people of Assam too have a role to play in Assam’s growth journey. “Along with agitation, the trend of donations too has to stop if Assam has to move ahead and become one of the top states in the country,” he said.
