Only hard work can reverse the work-shy slur on us: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma today asserted that Bangladeshi Miyans are creating a narrative that if they don’t work, the Assamese people will find it difficult to live. The Assamese people should take this narrative as an insult and challenge it to prove the Miyans wrong.

The Chief Minister spoke on this issue while launching the Chief Minister’s Atmanirbhar Asom Abhijan (CMAAA) 2.0 in Guwahati today. The CM said it is frequently heard that the Miyans are getting the scope to work as vegetable vendors, rickshaw pullers, construction workers, etc., because the Assamese youths don’t work in these fields. He said the claim is true to a certain extent. “In Guwahati itself, we see vendors setting up shops under the flyovers, and they earn a huge amount daily. However, only a small number of Assamese youths engage in this activity. Only about 10% of Assamese youths in Guwahati drive e-rickshaws or taxi cabs or work as vendors. As a result, businesses in Guwahati are no longer in the hands of the Assamese. “If the Assamese people do not gain economic power, they will gradually lose their political power as well,” he stated.

The CM further stated, “Slogans alone will not sustain the Assamese people. Only hard work can reverse the work-shy slur on us. Therefore, we have to work. The scenario has, however, changed to a certain extent over the past few years. The CMAAA will help change the narrative about the Assamese not working. Under this scheme, we’ll extend financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh and 5 lakh to 75,000 youths to become self-dependent. In the next five years, we’ll extend the aid to 10 lakh youths. If they utilize this assistance properly, these youths will be able to employ other youths in the future. We want to create employers, not employees, in Assam. Government jobs are limited, and it is a must for Assamese youths to engage themselves in enterprises and become self-dependent.”

“Had the leaders of the Assam Movement, at that time, taught the youths to become self-reliant, the scenario would not have come to such a pass today. Miyans would not have come here in search of employment opportunities, and many areas would have remained under the dominance of the Assamese. Now, the situation has reached a critical point. If we do not recognise the situation and work hard to survive, the Assamese people will no longer be able to thrive,” the Chief Minister emphasized.

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