Steering the Bharatiya Janata Party to power for the first time in the Northeast, Sarbananda Sonowal was on Tuesday sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Assam heading an 11-member ministry that also included representatives of allies Asom Gana Parishad and Bodo Peoples Front.
Watched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, senior party leader L K Advani, party chief ministers and leaders of the National Democratic Alliance, 54-year-old Sonowal and his ministers were administered the oath of secrecy by Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya at a well attended public function at Khanapara field in Guwahati. He took his oath in Assamese.
Along with Sonowal, 10 ministers including from alliance partners the AGP and the BPF took their oath of office.
The six from BJP to take oath as ministers were Himanta Biswa Sarma, a party strategist who quit the Congress last year, Chandra Mohan Patowary, Ranjit Dutta, Parimal Suklabaidya, Pallab Lochan Das and Naba Kumar Doley.
The two from AGP to be sworn-in were Atul Bora (Jr) and Kesab Mahanta, while the two from BPF were Pramila Rani Brahma and Rihan Daimary.
Brahma and Daimari took their oaths in Bodo and Suklabaidya in Bengali while the rest, in Assamese.
Outgoing Congress chief minister Tarun Gogoi was also present at the function.
Addressing the gathering after the function, Modi said the Centre would extend all assistance to ensure to bring about speedy development of Assam along with all north eastern states as part of Act East Policy.
“Assam will be the centre point to bring about effective all-round development of the entire North East and this region will emerge as powerfully developed part of the country as a part of our Act East Policy,” he said.
Sonowal in his speech said his government will work towards making the state free from illegal migrants and corruption.
“It is our commitment to make Assam free from illegal foreigners and corruption free in coming days. We are determined that we will succeed,” he said.
Other dignitaries present were Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Suresh Prabhu, Ram Vilas Paswan, Venkaiah Naidu, Nirmala Seetharaman, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Jitendra Singh, Jayant Sinha, Kiren Rijjiju and V K Singh.
BJP chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan), Anandiben Patel (Gujarat), Devendra Fadnavis (Maharastra), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), Raman Singh (Chattisgarh), Raghubar Das (Jharkhand) and Laxmikant Parsekar (Goa) attended the event.
Also present were chief ministers of alliance parties Parkash Singh Badal (Punjab) and Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kaliko Pul and Sikkim Chief Minister P K Chamling were also present, besides former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi.
The swearing in ceremony was conducted by Assam Chief Secretary V K Pipersenia.
Modi said, “We have a vision of all-round and balanced development in all parts of the country. We cannot rest if only the western part of the country progresses and the eastern part lag behinds. We are committed to ensure development of Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and the entire North East.”
The Centre, he said, believes in competitive and cooperative federalism. “We give maximum power to the states who want to progress while we hold hands of states who are not strong enough and ensure that they too are brought to the path of progress and development.”
The NE region was earlier called the ‘Seven Sisters’. “But for us it is ‘asthalakshmi’ (including Sikkim) and we are committed to the region’s all-round balanced development.”
The prime minister said all governments since Independence have done something good for the nation. “We must take this forward while striving to remove the prevailing deficiencies.”
Modi assured that the Centre will not allow Assam to feel deprived in any way and will try to provide assistance in the same speed that the state government wants to bring about change and development.
Assam’s deep rooted culture, ethics and values must be brought to the fore to inspire the rest of the country so that it can achieve moral strength and reach new heights, he said.
Modi said Assam and the North Eastern region has special importance in strengthening ties with Eastern nations.
The prime minister said if the people and government move together you will get unprecedented results.
“I assure you our government at Centre believes in cooperative federalism and we believe in giving more power to states. Assam will not let down on any issue by the Centre,” Modi said.
The prime minister expressed confidence that the new government in Assam under Sonowal would strive to fulfil the aspirations and dreams of the people who reposed immense faith in the BJP during the recent assembly polls.
He said Sonowal will leave no stone unturned in fulfiling the dreams of Assam.
Sonowal’s becoming the chief minister was a moment of triumph and pride not only for the adivasis (tribals) but also for the entire nation, he said.
“Sonowal was my colleague in the Union ministry and I observed his simplicity, good nature, the smiling happy persona, humility. The ease with which he won over people is indeed appreciable.
“I have come here to thank the people of Assam who have dreamt of development and elected Sonowal and the others to ensure that their dreams are realised ... I assure them that the new government will work with dedication and sincerity for the welfare of Assam,” Modi added.
