Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Allegedly Blocked from Visiting Pakur Village by Jharkhand Government
National Desk, 1st August: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday, August 1 accused the Jharkhand government of preventing him from visiting Gopinathpur village in Pakur district. Sarma, who is also BJP’s co-in-charge for the Jharkhand election, was on a two-day visit to the state.
Sarma intended to visit Gopinathpur following a clash between two groups around Muharram, as reported by a BJP legislator. He expressed concerns about the changing demography of Pakur and the broader Santhal Pargana region, stating that infiltrators posed a significant issue. Sarma promised Rs 1 lakh each to the families of the Adivasi victims involved in the clash.
Addressing reporters at Phulo Jhano Chowk in Dumka district while en route to Pakur, Sarma criticized the restriction placed on him. He remarked, “If the Chief Minister of a state is not allowed to visit a certain place because of the fear of infiltrators, you can understand the situation of Jharkhand.” He emphasized that he would not forcefully visit Gopinathpur but vowed to return and visit the village in the future.
In addition to Gopinathpur, Sarma was scheduled to visit KKM College in Pakur, where a clash between tribal students and police on July 26 resulted in 15 injuries, including six police personnel. He also planned to inspect areas where tribal land had allegedly been seized by Bangladeshi infiltrators.
The issue was raised in the Assembly by Leader of Opposition Amar Bauri, who condemned the incident as a “black chapter in democracy.” He criticized the suspension of 18 BJP MLAs until 2 pm on Friday for raising public issues and denounced the restriction on Sarma’s visit as an affront to democratic principles.
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