Himanta Biswa Sarma Sets Rs 10 Lakh Crore Economy Goal for Assam

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma outlined plans for Assam’s economic growth and societal reforms, asserting BJP-led NDA's commitment to prosperity. Key initiatives include the goal of a Rs 10 lakh crore economy by 2028 and implementation of the Uniform Civil Code to support minority women's rights.

Asserting that the assembly election results were an affirmation of the BJP-led NDA's commitment to peace and prosperity in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said his government will work to make the state a Rs 10 lakh crore economy by 2028.

He said the NDA's acceptance among the people has increased over the last five years and the minority community was also gradually leaning towards it, which would ''spell more trouble for the Congress''.

Speaking during a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor's Address in the assembly, Sarma said that tabling the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill proved his government's commitment to working for the rights of women belonging to the minority community.

He mentioned of the Opposition's boycott of the governor's speech in the assembly and urged for a discussion on not resorting to such steps, citing the example of Parliament where the President's address is attended by the opposition parties.

Noting that the state's GDP has grown from Rs 4 lakh crore in 2021-22 to Rs 8 lakh crore in the last five years, he said the target was to make it a Rs 10 lakh crore economy by 2028.

Stating that a strong middle-class is getting formed in the state, he said that the percentage of people living below poverty line (BPL) will be brought down to 2-3 per cent in the next five years from current 17 per cent.

''When poverty decreases, social indicators improve. The improvement in Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is one such indicator for us,'' the CM said.

From MMR of 480 per 1 lakh live births in 2006, it has come down to 84 per 1 lakh live births and Assam's figure is now below the all-India figure, he added.

He affirmed that the government would continue working for development and protecting the identity of the indigenous people by stopping Bangladeshi influx and safeguarding tribal land, among others.

On the election results, he said, ''The NDA's tally not just reached 102, but the number of votes polled by our candidates also increased by 15 lakh this time. The BJP candidates secured over 81.92 lakh votes, AGP got 14 lakh, and BPF got 8 lakh, with the NDA crossing the 1 crore votes mark in total.''.

''The NDA swept all Scheduled Tribe reserved seats and tea tribes-dominated ones, while winning all but one seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes,'' he added.

He said that even in a couple of minority-dominated seats, AGP and BPF candidates secured over 1 lakh votes each, an indication of the community leaning towards the NDA.

Sarma said Assam kept intact its record of peace after elections, and even West Bengal, from where people used to take refuge in Assam to escape post-poll violence during Trinamool Congress rule, did not witness such a situation.

The CM said he kept his promise by tabling the UCC Bill in the first assembly session.

''Tabling the UCC Bill proves our government's commitment to work for the rights of women belonging to the minority community. I hope the Opposition will support it,'' he said.

''After Gujarat and Uttarakhand, Assam will become the third state to have UCC,'' he added.

Sarma also lauded the decision of several Eidgah committees to refrain from cow sacrifice during Bakri Eid, and hoped more committees would follow suit.

He said that when his previous government had brought in the Cattle Preservation Act in 2021, many had interpreted it as an attempt to hamper religious sentiments.

From there, Assam has reached a state where Muslims are themselves refraining from cow slaughter respecting Hindu sentiments and this will strengthen communal harmony, Sarma said.

Referring to the issue of price rise raised by several MLAs during the discussion, the CM said the government was seized of the matter, and measures were being taken to check it.

More austerity measures will be included in the state Budget, likely to be presented in July, Sarma added.

Sarma said the election results showed people rejected personal attacks and politicisation of singer Zubeen Garg's death.

In an apparent reference to the Congress, he said one party thought they could win the elections by criticising his family.

''During the elections, things came to such a pass that whether my wife applies 'sindoor' or not was being discussed... We cannot stoop to such a low where we discuss what dress the wife of an MLA wears,'' he said.

He accused the opposition parties of trying to gain political mileage out of Garg's death, who died while swimming in the sea in Singapore in September last year.

''One party went to the extent of including Zubeen's name in its manifesto, using his photos in campaign... People who earlier hired singers from Bangladesh for cultural functions became Zubeen's fans overnight,'' Sarma claimed.

''But people replied that there can be no politics with Zubeen,'' he added.

In an apparent reference to state Congress president and MP Gaurav Gogoi's defeat in the elections, Sarma said, ''A politician should not become proud. Pride leads a person to lose a small assembly segment under the Lok Sabha constituency he had won just two years ago.''