Himanta says Opposition’s ‘politicisation’ of Zubeen Garg’s death backfired in Assam polls

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday, May 20, claimed that the Congress-led Opposition suffered politically in the Assembly elections for allegedly “politicising” the death of singer Zubeen Garg.

The Chief Minister made the remarks after visiting ‘Zubeen Khetra’, the cremation site of the late musician at Kamarakuchi in Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati, where he paid tribute and reviewed the ongoing development work at the memorial site.

Zubeen Garg died in Singapore on September 19 last year while swimming in the sea during a visit to perform at the fourth edition of a festival. He was 52.

Addressing reporters, Sarma said there should be no politics in the name of the singer.

“As promised, after the dust of the elections settled, I visited the site today purely as a tribute to someone who, for us, is evergreen. He was never a matter of politics, but an emotion that lives in every heart,” he said.

The Chief Minister alleged that attempts by the Congress-led Opposition to politicise the singer’s death were rejected by the people during the recently concluded Assembly elections.

“Some of them have stopped invoking his name as soon as polls got over, and those who came to his shrine had no knowledge of Zubeen when he was alive,” Sarma claimed.

Calling the singer Assam’s “eternal heartthrob”, Sarma said, “Zubeen was, is and will always remain my favourite.”

The Congress and its allies had earlier criticised the State government over the alleged delay in setting up a fast-track court in connection with the Zubeen Garg death case. During the election campaign, the Opposition had promised justice for the singer within 100 days if voted to power and had also targeted the BJP over the absence of senior national party leaders at Zubeen Khetra.

During Wednesday’s visit, the Chief Minister reviewed the progress of construction work at the memorial site. He said the initial phase of development has begun and measures are being taken to protect the area from possible landslides.

According to Sarma, the main development work at the Samadhi Khetra will progress in a structured manner after the completion of the boundary wall.