HIMANTA Biswa Sarma was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Assam for the second consecutive term on Tuesday, marking the formation of the third BJP-led NDA Government in a row in the northeastern State. Four MLAs - BJP’s Rameshwar Teli and Ajanta Neog, AGP’s Atul Bora, Charan Boro of BPF - also took oath as ministers. Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya administered the oath of office to Sarma and the four legislators at a grand ceremony held at the Veterinary Ground in Khanapara area in Guwahati. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Sarbananda Sonowal, Pabitra Margherita, Chief Ministers and deputy CMs of BJP-ruled States and BJP President Nitin Nabin were present at the swearing-in ceremony. The Chief Minister, attired in dhoti and kurta with the traditional ‘gamosa’ draped around his neck, took oath in the Assamese language. Three of the four legislators - Teli, Bora and Neog - also took their oath in Assamese, while the BPF Minister took it in the Bodo language. The Prime Minister congratulated Sarma and the ministers after they were sworn in. After the oath-taking ceremony was over, the PM greeted the people and those present on the dais before leaving the venue.

 

“With the blessings of Maa Kamakhya, Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev and the people of Assam, I took oath as the Chief Minister. Along with the Council of Ministers, we look forward to serving our people and continue to fulfill all their aspirations,” Sarma said in a post on X. Assam’s longest-serving woman legislator, a veteran tea tribe leader, and senior representatives of allies AGP and BPF were among the four Ministers sworn into the new Cabinet on Tuesday alongside Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Ajanta Neog: A six-time MLA from Golaghat, Neog is the State’s longest-serving woman legislator, representing the constituency continuously since 2001. She also became the state’s first and only woman finance minister after assuming the portfolio in 2021. A man was nabbed on Tuesday from the venue of the swearing-in ceremony of the new Assam government allegedly with a few rounds of live bullets, police said. The live bullets were recovered from the man during security screening at the entrance of the Veterinary College Field in Khanapara, they said “He was taken into custody for questioning. He is being taken to Basistha police station,” an officer said.

 

However, no arms have been recovered from the person, he said. “An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the recovery and whether any security threat was involved,” he added. The incident happened minutes before Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya was set to administer the oath of office and secrecy to Himanta Biswa Sarma as Chief Minister, along with a new Council of Ministers.