GUWAHATI, Aug 29: Contributions of Assam’s first non-Congress CM Golap Borbora were recalled as the state celebrates his birth centenary on Friday even as Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while attending a programme to mark the occasion, said that Borbora was among the many leaders sidelined by the Congress despite their towering contributions to the nation,
A socialist leader and freedom fighter, Borbora was also the first opposition member to be elected to the Rajya Sabha from this northeastern state.
“Celebrating the birth centenary of Golap Borbora, a leader whose life was a testament to courage, simplicity and dedication to Assam’s people,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post on X.
Related Posts:
Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal in a social media post, paid his tribute to Borbora, and said, “With steadfast dedication and selfless service, Golap Borbora, the first non-Congress chief minister of Assam, earned a lasting place in the hearts of the people.”
Expressing gratitude to the state government for marking the birth centenary of Borbora, his son, Pankaj Borbora said, “We are thankful that the state government has taken this initiative. The ideologies that our father stood for are reflected in the work of the present government also.”
He recounted his father’s active participation in the freedom struggle and several movements for the rights of the working class in Independent India, including imprisonment for 19 months for opposing the emergency.
Pankaj Borbora, a BJP state spokesperson, maintained that certain measures, like the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in some states, were also adopted during the Janata Party government in Assam.
“It was the intensive voters’ list revision under his government ahead of the 1978 Mangaldai bye-election, which was similar to the ongoing SIR, that had brought forth the illegal Bangladeshi issue. He wanted to go for such revision in another 60 Assembly constituencies,” Borbora told PTI.
“Had the revision been done, the illegal Bangladeshi problem would not have compounded to this level,” he claimed.
Borbora maintained that the ideals of his late father remain relevant in the present context and thanked all those involved in taking forward his legacy, who had died on March 19, 2006, due to age-related ailments.
On the other hand, Shah said that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government that had restored honour to such figures like Borbora.
Speaking at Borbora’s birth centenary celebrations at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra here, Shah said the socialist leader embodied empathy and service.
“I pay my heartfelt tribute to former CM Golap Borbora on his birth centenary. He played a crucial role in shaping Assam’s politics and contributed significantly in the years after Independence,” he said.
The Union Home Minister quoted Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika’s famous lines “Manuhe Manuhor Babe, Jibon Jibonor Babe”, saying Borbora lived by those ideals.
Recalling his political journey, Shah highlighted Borbora’s tenure as general secretary of the Samyukta Socialist Party in 1965, his support for railway workers during the strike, and his strong stand against Indira Gandhi’s Emergency.
“When Borbora became Chief Minister in 1978 as Assam’s first non-Congress leader, a new era began for the state,” he added.
Targeting the Congress, Shah said the party only celebrated its own icons while neglecting others.
“Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s statue was installed only under PM Modi in 2022. Assam’s first Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi received the Bharat Ratna only after the BJP came to power. Despite being a Congressman, Bordoloi was ignored by Congress governments,” he remarked.
Shah thanked the Assam Chief Minister for organising the centenary event, noting that Borbora had no association with the BJP yet deserved recognition. “He lived by socialist principles, but his voice was always for the poor and the marginalised. The younger generation must know about such leaders,” he said. (With inputs from PTI)
