HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Dec 5: Four MLAs will be sworn in as ministers in the Cabinet expansion of Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government and the oath-taking ceremony is scheduled to happen on Saturday.
Taking to X handle, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on Thursday, “Happy to share that the following colleagues will be sworn in as ministers in our Cabinet on 7th December at 12 PM: Prasanta Phukan, Kaushik Rai, Krishnendu Paul, and Rupesh Goala.”
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This is the first expansion of the Cabinet since Sarma took the chief minister’s post three years ago.
In the cabinet, there are four vacant berths—three existed since the beginning of Sarma’s tenure as the chief minister, while one position got vacant after former minister Parimal Suklabaidya won this year’s Lok Sabha polls in the state.
Rai is believed to be the replacement for Suklabaidya as both of them belong to the same district.
Phookan is an MLA from Dibrugarh and Paul is from Patharkandi assembly constituency in the Sribhumi district.
Goala is a legislator from the Doom Dooma constituency in the Tinsukia district.
Both Rai and Goala became MLAs in the 2021 assembly polls while Paul won on a BJP ticket twice from the Patharkandi assembly seat.
Phookan is a senior BJP leader and a four-time MLA from Dibrugarh. He has not lost here since the 2006 assembly election.
The Dibrugarh seat was regarded as a Congress stronghold until 2006 when Phukan won the seat. Since 1957, Congress has won the seat 10 out of 14 times, while BJP has won it twice. On two other occasions, CPI (1957) and Janata Party (1978) emerged victorious.
“I got the information from the chief minister’s X post. I have been inducted in the Cabinet and I like to thank our chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for showing confidence in me and giving me the chance to work with him in his cabinet,” said Phukan.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Kishan was asked to resign from the minister’s post and Goala will be a replacement for him. Both Kishan and Goala represent the tea-garden community people which is a potential vote bank of the BJP in the state.
On Sarma’s call, Kishan flew to Delhi today as he tendered his resignation after meeting the chief minister.
Meanwhile, with the expansion, portfolios of some of the ministers are likely to be changed.
The chief minister was in the national capital for the last few days. He conducted a cabinet meeting through virtual mode on Wednesday evening to take a key decision regarding the ban on the consumption of beef in Assam.
Sarma said, “We previously imposed a ban on consumption of beef in an area within a five-kilometre radius of temples and other prayer places. However, now we have decided to extend this restriction and a total ban for consuming beef in public places in Assam is prohibited from today.”
“The restriction also includes serving beef in hotels, restaurants, and at any other community festivals in the state. The defaulters will be punished as per the provision laid down under the law,” he added.
