Assam: Siddhartha Bhattacharya Removed from 'Education Minister' Post

Guwahati, January 18, 2019:

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Siddhartha Bhattacharya has been relieved from his position as the Education Minister of Assam amid the shake-up in the Cabinet ahead of the all-important 2021 Assembly polls in the State.

It may be mentioned that Bhattacharya's tenure has been marked by controversy. After the Assam Government shifted the responsibility of serving food to Government school students to private NGOs, Bhattacharya was lambasted by thousands of mid-day meal workers who lost their livelihood.

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Bhattacharya also came under the scanner after saying that those teachers who had gotten their teaching certificates more than five years ago need to have their documents renewed, just like driving licenses. For this, they will have to sit for the Teacher’s Eligibility Test (TET) again.

This comment caused an uproar and thousands of teachers descended on capital Dispur, demanding the regularization of their jobs.

Now, after numerous controversies, Bhattacharya has been relieved of his duties, and Himanta Biswa Sarma has been appointed in his stead.

Bhattacharya has now been appointed as the Cooperative Minister. He will also serve as the Minister of Guwahati Development Department.

It may be mentioned here that the Assam Cabinet is in the throes of a major shake-up. Earlier today, Governor Jagdish Mukhi administered the oaths to the newly-inducted Ministers — Jogen Mohan (Mahmara MLA) and Sanjay Kishan (Tinsukia MLA) — at the Darbar Hall at the Governor’s residence.

It may be mentioned here that the adding of the two new Ministers to the Cabinet was necessitated after Topon Kumar Gogoi, an Ahom, and and Pallab Lochan Das, from the tea community, were elected to the Lok Sabha during the 2019 general elections. While Kishan hails from the tea tribe community, Mohan represents the Ahom community.

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