Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated on Friday that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has no affiliation with the BJP and that they are free to ask people not to vote for him if they so choose. This came amid a language dispute.
“ABVP is neither affiliated with or a part of the BJP. They can object as much as they want, but I’m powerless to intervene. If they choose, they may also ask people to abstain from voting for me, stated CM Sarma.
The student group had demanded that the state’s government-aided schools use Assamese as their primary language of instruction; this prompted the Chief Minister’s response.
The state administration decided earlier this week to make English the primary language of instruction in state-run schools for Classes 3 through 10.
Student organisations in the state fiercely opposed the idea.
The ABVP chapter in Assam had pleaded with the government to rethink its course of action, but it backfired when Assam Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah allegedly made crude remarks and compared the student group to robbers and dacoits.
It’s interesting to note that the student organization’s massive signature drive was launched in Nalbari, the town where minister Jayanta Malla was chosen to serve on the Assam legislature.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a group of Hindu nationalists, is linked with the right-wing student organisation known as the ABVP (RSS). With more than 3 million participants, it is the biggest student organisation in India.
The state government’s decision was also attacked by the All-Assam Students Union (AASU). In response, CM Sarma explicitly declared that he would not operate his government in accordance with the AASU’s directive.
He further asserted that the AASU officials had no moral standing to discuss the school’s medium of instruction because they have long since passed the age limit for remaining a student.