Assam Congress urges Singapore institute to withdraw Himanta’s fellowship

Guwahati, Sep 19 (IANS) Bhupen Kumar Borah, the president of the Assam Congress, on Tuesday Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy to withdraw Chief Minister Himanta Sarma’s fellowship since the BJP leader "stands for all that is wrong in Indian politics."

In an open letter to the institution's dean, Borah expressed his shock that Sarma had been given the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship, which is named for Singapore's first prime minister.

In his open letter, Borah emphasised that Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, was a model statesman who consistently displayed honesty, diligence, and decorum.

“On the other hand, Himanta Biswa Sarma exemplifies the opposite of everything that Lee Kuan Yew stood for. In fact, he stands for all that is wrong in Indian politics,” the Congress leader alleged in the letter.

He claimed that Sarma is accused of several financial scams and often makes highly communalised statements against minorities, citing various news reports.

Borah urged the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy to revoke the fellowship awarded to Sarma, claiming that the Chief Minister had failed to provide citizens with essential services while the state had gone deeper and deeper into debt.

Meanwhile, Rupam Goswami, a BJP spokesperson, responded to Borah's letter by saying the Congressman should have been pleased that his state's Chief Minister was being honored.

“Although Himanta Biswa Sarma is a member of the BJP, he is the only Assam Chief Minister eligible for this fellowship. Bhupen Borah is a pessimistic individual who seeks out the negative aspects of even good developments,” Goswami said.

This fellowship has previously been awarded to Indian figures such as former union minister Arun Shourie, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and former Vice-Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

--IANS

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