Some critics go further and read deeper political motives into some of his recent decisions/moves in Assam. They fear that his latest proposals apparently targeting Muslims may have a strong, if indirect, impact on neighbouring states in the Northeast, even West Bengal.

Such criticism it needs stressing, leaves the Assam Chief Minister totally unfazed — but then Mr Sarma has never been accused of nurturing modest political ambitions. Along with his counterpart Mr Adityanath Yogi in Uttar Pradesh, Sarma has emerged as a frontrunner among the handful of dynamic BJP leaders whose outreach and influence have now spread well beyond the borders of their native territories.

In both cases, the key to their domination and success has been an uncompromising zeal to carry out certain specific programmes, while totally ignoring any attendant political controversy.

Even as he campaigns energetically for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and making Mr. Gandhi’s programmes as uncomfortable as possible, the Assam Chief Minister is actively backing new legislation to crack down on bigamy/polygamy controversies and illicit child marriages within his State.

Assam-based media reports suggest that the state Government would like to have such matters discussed thoroughly in the February budget session itself, before a new Act can be announced. The official view is that illegal infiltration from Bangladesh continues. The practice among some Muslim men of maintaining more than one wife creates problems for the society as a whole, in addition to illegal marriages of minors.

In the absence of major efforts to check such practices, the state’s population had increased in recent years. More alarmingly, the demographic balance had been altered substantially in several places over the years, leaving many communities worried about their future.

State officials have adopted a transparent approach, while dealing with such sensitive issues. Mass hearings were held to encourage public discussion on such matters. At one such gathering, the reports said, nearly 150 people supported the official stand while only 2/3 persons spoke against it. At another meet, there was no opposition at all, according to media reports. These trends seemingly indicated a degree or support among broad sections of the people for the official line.

Opposition parties and leaders, as can be expected, strongly condemn the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) proposals as inhuman, communal and discriminatory. They feel that only Muslims were being discriminated against. They allege that in the recent delimitation exercises redefining the areas and alignment of different Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies in Assam, steps had been taken by the administration as well as the ruling party to make sure that opposition parties suffered a loss as their support bases were effectively eroded, in 100 out of 126 Assembly seats.

Therefore, the largely ‘imagined problem’ of alien Muslims swamping Assam, through an ever expanding population had already been officially handled, as openly admitted by Mr Sarma himself on some occasions, according to Congress and AIUDF leaders(All India United Democratic Front). Besides, repeated official inquiries and drives, including the last disastrous NRC initiative, to locate and push out ‘lakhs of infiltrators’ had run their course, they added.

As expected, the AIUDF reaction has been most strongly negative on this issue, as well as to most minority-related matters as handled by the administration. ‘Muslims in Assam could expect little help and security from the BJP .especially during Sarma’s tenure,’ says Mr Badruddin Ajmal, MP and AIUDF supremo.

This is of course vigorously contested by Mr Sarma, who has always been careful in maintaining a clear distinction between the native Assamiya-speaking Muslims and the Bengali-speaking Bangladeshi immigrant Muslims (‘Miyans,’ in local parlance) .

It is the latter class of Muslims that has generally been at the receiving end of allegedly harsh treatment from the state administration or rival political forces/parties, according to observers.

Ms Susmita Dev, who recently switched over to join the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from Congress, has also reacted strongly against the administration, on a related issue. Referring to the recently botched up NRC operations, seeking to isolate and disenfranchise illegal Bangladeshi, she pointed out that nearly 20 lakh people had lost some of their basic human rights in Assam. These were the people whose citizenship status was left undefined /doubtful by NRC officials. Neither the state nor the central Government under the BJP had cared either to re-define their present position, either positively or negatively.

Surviving in a limbo, these apparently stateless people, mostly Hindus, were no longer entitled to access official help on many matters, opposition leaders alleged. (IPA Service)