HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Sept 6: Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met Union minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal at his official residence here on Tuesday. During his 30-minute meeting with the Union minister, CM Sarma discussed a range of issues, including the modernisation of Assam’s judicial system.
“CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has paid a courtesy call on Union Minister for Law & Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal. There was a detailed discussion on the modernisation of the judicial system of Assam,” the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Union minister Meghwal also tweeted, “Assam’s popular Chief Minister Shri @himantabiswa ji paid a courtesy visit to my Delhi residence today. Positive discussions were held with him on many important issues like preservation of cultural heritage of the state, development of North East Region and strengthening of judicial system.”
Meghwal presented books to Sarma, and the latter reciprocated the gesture by thanking him profusely, saying that he learned a lot during his visit.
Earlier, chief minister Sarma met Union minister of State for Electronics and Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, at his office. Regarding the meeting, the CMO wrote: “They deliberated on various issues, including Assam’s new policy on semiconductor manufacturing.”
Taking to the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote: “Happy to receive Hon. CM of #Assam Shri. Himanta Biswa Sarma @himantabiswa at @GoI_MeitY today. We discussed the future of #Skilling & #Innovation in #Assam. I assured full support of the Government of India for his vision.”
Sarma was quick to respond: “It was truly enlightening to discover the tremendous efforts of @GoI_MeitY in making our nation a global innovation hub. Assam is eager to play its part in this incredible journey!”
It should be noted that with the aim of attracting semiconductor units to Assam, the state government has approved the Assam Electronics (Semiconductor, etc.) Policy 2023. The Assam cabinet has also approved productivity-linked incentives for the industry.
The chief minister visited Dwarka in the afternoon to oversee the construction work of the new Assam House, the third state guesthouse in the national capital. Sarma laid the foundation stone of the state-of-the-art new Assam House on April 22 of this year.
On Monday, the chief minister met Union Home minister Amit Shah at his official residence and discussed the complete withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Assam. Based on the suggestions put forth by Shah for the complete withdrawal of AFSPA, the chief minister told media personnel here that the state government will convene a cabinet meeting either on September 7 or 8 and convey its decision to the Ministry of Home Affairs by September 30, whether to withdraw completely or continue with the Act.
