Assam Cabinet reshuffle to take place on June 9: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

On Thursday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma indicated a possible expansion of his Cabinet on June 9. The CM Sarma-led Assam government completed one year in May 2022 without any Cabinet reshuffle. 

However, the state government has not revealed the identity of any candidate, but one MLA from the Hills districts will be inducted into the Assam Cabinet. Earlier, CM Himanta Sarma had said that the expansion of his Cabinet might occur somewhere around November 2022.

In 2021, Himanta Biswa Sarma led the BJP to victory, wooing women voters by promising to waive off small loans and not mentioning any implementation of CAA - which had been the main poll plank of the Congress. The BJP won 60 seats while its alliance partners AGP got nine seats and UPPL got 6 seats, while Congress failed miserably, winning 29 seats while its Mahajot alliance partners won - AIUDF (16), BPF (4) and CPM (1). The BJP-led alliance was sworn in on 10 May 2021. The Assam cabinet included 11 ministers from BJP, 2 from alliance partner Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and 1 from UPPL.

Notably, Article 164(1A) of the Constitution stipulates that the size of the council of ministers in the state should not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Assembly. With 126 members in the Assembly, Assam can have a maximum of 18 ministers including the Chief Minister. 

Minority Certificates for 6 religious communities in Assam

Meanwhile, ahead of the expansion, the Assam Cabinet on Sunday decided to provide Minority Certificates to people of six religious minority communities. These include Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis. The development was confirmed by Assam Minister Keshab Mahanta. Notably, CM Sarma expressed his thoughts on redefining the minority status in Assam in April this year. The CM had stated that Muslims, who many think are the only minorities in India, are a majority in several districts of Assam such as South Salmara-Mankachar in the west, where Muslims account for nearly 95% of the population.

Speaking during the Budget Session of the Assembly, the Assam CM had also rooted for a more granular division of religious minorities, which he believed should be decided at the district level. His remarks came after the Centre told the Supreme Court that states have the power to designate minority status. 

(Image: PTI)