Mirzapur (UP), February 16 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma offered prayers at the Vindhyavasini Temple in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday.
Sarma arrived at the temple around 8 pm and performed rituals after paying his respects to Goddess Vindhyavasini. He was accompanied by local MLA Ratnakar Mishra.
When asked about the controversy surrounding the resignation of former Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Bora from the party, he said, "If he has withdrawn his resignation, why would he call us? I will meet him tomorrow, and then discussions will be held regarding his joining the BJP."
Ahead of the Assam Assembly elections, which are due in a few months, the Congress suffered a setback on Monday when Bora resigned from the party.
He sent his resignation to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Bora served as president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee from 2021 to 2025, and Gaurav Gogoi was appointed to the post last year.
On the issue of alleged polarisation before the Assam elections, Sarma said that the state's demographics had changed and claimed that about 40 per cent of the population is Muslim, of whom nearly 36 per cent have migrated from Bangladesh at different times, mostly during the Congress rule.
On the issue of encroachment, Sarma said that over the past five years, 50,000 acres of land have been cleared of encroachers, and that another 1.5 lakh acres will be freed in the next five years.
He alleged that encroachers have occupied nearly 10 lakh acres of land in the state.
