Sonia Gandhi asked me to decide 2014 swearing-in date: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed that then Congress president Sonia Gandhi had asked him to decide on the date for his swearing in as CM when 58 party MLAs had supported him in 2014.

The scenario, however, changed after Rahul Gandhi, who was then in the USA, made phone calls to party leaders, Sarma told reporters.

“Madam (Sonia Gandhi), whom I still refer to as such, had asked me to decide on the date, and I had told her that I would take oath the day after the Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya Temple in June (2014),” Sarma said.

The situation changed after Rahul Gandhi made the calls, he said.

“I was hurt then, but now I believe that whatever happens in one’s life is for the best and God has given me much more than what I would have got, had I remained in the Congress,” he said.

“As the BJP CM, I got a chance to serve both Assam and Sanatan Dharma wholeheartedly, which would not have been possible had I been in the Congress. I thank Rahul Gandhi for this,” Sarma, who became the chief minister in 2021, added. He said that he would elaborate on these developments if he ever writes a book.

“When Mallikarjun Kharge had then come to the State, 58 Congress MLAs had supported me; some leaders remained neutral, and only 12 had said the status quo should remain,” Sarma claimed. Justice was not given to “me, but Kharge always told my opponents in the party: you fight with Himanta, but he has the MLAs”, the CM said.

“These are facts, and there are many witnesses to this, but I am thankful that it did not happen as I would have become tainted for eternity”, he said. Referring to his allegations against State Congress president Gaurav Gogoi of having Pakistani links, the CM claimed that, along with the people of the State, members of that Opposition party are also finding it difficult to accept it. As the election approaches, many more leaders will speak out.

Sarma claimed that he had said way back in 2012 that he would not bow before leaders who “parachute land” in the state.

“Cabinet ministers in the then State Government had been directed to attend Gaurav Gogoi’s meetings. I had refused, saying that I hold a constitutional post and I will not go, but he can attend my public meetings. This antagonised the then leaders of the party,” he said.

He claimed that people do not know the real reasons why he resigned from the Cabinet and then the Congress, but “one day they will.” Sarma had resigned from then Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s cabinet in 2014 and from the party in 2015.

He said that the Congress ecosystem is such that it is difficult for people from ordinary families to survive, and former party Chief Bhupen Borah struggled for long but ultimately was forced to tender his resignation on Monday.