In a move to quell the dissidence in Congress, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday appointed 13 legislators as Parliamentary Secretaries even as there are reports that two Ministers would also be inducted in the cabinet soon.
The 13 legislators who were appointed as parliamentary secretaries on Monday, includes Susanta Borgohain, Arun Phukan, Aroti Kachari, Monika Bora, Rupjyoti Kurmi, Ghanashyam Kalita, Habul Chakraborty, Rumi Nath, Hemanta Talukdar, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, Jamaluddin Ahmed, Sivsaran Basumatary, and SR Subba.
A statement from the office of the Assam CM on Monday said that the newly appointed Parliamentary Secretaries would be given the oath of office, and secrecy at a function on Wednesday morning.
Sources also said that former Ministers, Siddeque Ahmed and Gautam Roy, would also be inducted in the cabinet soon to stop the dissidence among the party leaders in Assam’s Barak valley. It is also the reason that the Chief Minister had accommodated three Parliamentary secretaries from the Barak Valley including the controversial Rumi Nath, who had been named for her involvement in an inter-state car theft racket.
The development took place after nine Assam Congress legislators met BJP national President Amit Shah earlier this month and expressed their desire to join the saffron party and work for development of Assam.
Former Assam Health Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma had joined the BJP last month and said that he would bring to saffron party’s fold 52 legislators including at least one minister of the Gogoi cabinet. While Himanta led the nine Congress legislators to meet Amit Shah, he said that ten Congress legislators in Assam are waiting the approval of the BJP top leadership to desert Congress and join the BJP.