“Good thing the bowler wasn’t from Congress”: Himanta Sarma takes a swipe at Congress

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took a swipe at the Congress over its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In a post on X, Sarma wrote, “Good thing the bowler wasn't from Congress. He'd have walked off claiming the ball was tampered with, the pitch was fixed and demanded the umpire's resignation!”

The remark appeared to be an indirect reference to the Congress's protests against the Election Commission and its demand for Kumar's resignation over the SIR exercise.

Sarma's post came on Monday, October 13, when he was in Dibrugarh district for the inauguration of a multi-sport complex in Naharkatia, built at an initial cost of around Rs 22 crore.

The chief minister inaugurated the multi-sport complex, spread across approximately 34 bighas of land, on October 13. The facility has been developed to provide modern training and playing infrastructure for athletes across multiple sporting disciplines.

The first phase of the project involved an expenditure of around Rs 22 crore. The complex includes an international-standard cricket ground, a swimming pool, a football ground, an athletics field with specialised facilities, a hockey ground and a gymnasium, among other amenities.

The facility is expected to provide athletes from Naharkatia and neighbouring areas with improved access to sports infrastructure and opportunities to prepare for state- and national-level competitions.

Following the inauguration of the cricket ground, Sarma formally opened the swimming pool and football ground. He later watched a football match between the Naharkatia Sports Association and the Duliajan Sports Association, organised as part of the programme.

Assam Sports Minister Biswajit Daimary, Labour Minister Rameswar Teli, Cultural Affairs Minister Bimal Borah and Naharkatia MLA Taranga Gogoi were among those present at the inauguration.