Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma offered a “red carpet” welcome to Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday, a day after the Trinamul supremo asserted that “khela” (game) would take place in Assam and Tripura after Bengal.
Sarma, who was here to meet the family members of Alok Kumar Ghosh, former MLA of Mariani in Assam who passed away recently, said the Trinamul’s entry in Assam would help the saffron camp.
“Considering the prospective vote bank that she is eyeing in Assam and her political lines, we will offer her a red carpet welcome if she comes to Assam. This is because we are confident that her plan to develop the Trinamul in Assam will affect the support base of the Congress and the UDF and help us strengthen our support,” Sarma said.
On Saturday, both Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee, while speaking at a virtual rally, underscored the fact that they were focusing on Assam and Tripura and intended to oust the BJP from power there.
The Trinamul has also managed to get former Congress stalwart Santosh Mohan Dev’s daughter Sushmita Dev — who is known to have a considerable support base in Silchar — on board. There is information that the party is in contact with a couple of other anti-BJP leaders, both in upper and lower Assam.
Sarma was brief in his reaction to Sushmita’s defection from the Congress to the Trinamul. “She might have some influence in a district but not in the state as a whole. Also, the more she advocates about the Trinamul, it will be her former party (Congress) and not us that will weaken,” he said.
The Assam chief minister was also critical of the Bengal government over the issue of post-poll violence. “Elections were held in Assam and Bengal together. In our state, there had been some tough contests but after the polls, not a single stone was pelted on any house. But here in Bengal, the situation went to such an extent that the court had to order a CBI probe,” he said.
Referring to the Gorkha population in Bengal, Sarma said the community had been included in the protected-class category in Assam. “All the cases pending against them in foreigners’ tribunal have been dropped. The Gorkhas are absolutely safe and enjoy complete protection,” he said.