Guwahati, Aug 29 (IANS) Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the late Assamese leader Golap Borbora — the first-ever non-Congress chief minister of Assam — was among the many personalities sidelined by the Congress despite their towering contributions to the nation. He stressed that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government which restored honour to such figures.

Speaking at Golap Borbora’s birth-centenary celebrations at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra here, Home Minister Shah, who arrived here on Thursday on a two-day visit to Assam, 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, Home Minister 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 late former Prime Minister 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,” the Home Minister added.

Targeting the Congress, HM Shah said the party only celebrated its own icons while neglecting others.

“Assam’s first Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi was awarded the Bharat Ratna (posthumously in 1999) only after the BJP came to power. Despite being a Congressman, Bordoloi was ignored by the Congress governments,” he remarked.

Home Minister Shah also thanked Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for organising the centenary event, noting that Borbora had no association with the BJP yet deserved recognition.

“His voice was always for the poor and the marginalised. The younger generation must know about such leaders,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress, HM Shah said that Assam cannot be represented by leaders who make “frequent visits to Pakistan” — a veiled reference to state unit Congress president Gaurav Gogoi.

“Assam cannot be represented by people who sympathise with infiltrators and encroachers. Assam cannot be led by people who visit Pakistan frequently,” HM Shah remarked, without naming Gaurav Gogoi.

–IANS

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