Assam Guv, CM, Gaurav Gogoi greet people on Rongali Bihu
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday extended greetings to people on the occasion of Rongali Bihu and the Assamese New Year.
In a statement, Acharya said Rongali Bihu symbolises new beginnings, hope and togetherness, and plays a vital role in strengthening Assam's rich cultural traditions while bringing joy, peace and prosperity to society.
Describing India as a land of festivals, he noted that such occasions promote social harmony, cultural identity and unity.
"The state represents a harmonious confluence of diverse communities, languages and traditions, forming the greater Assamese identity. Rongali Bihu, marking the advent of spring and the Assamese New Year, reflects the deep bond between people and nature and inspires collective celebration," Acharya said.
The love for nature among the people of Assam, he said, is the soul of the state and Rongali Bihu is its most graceful expression.
"As an agrarian festival, Bihu captures the hopes and aspirations of farmers through its songs and dances, making it deeply meaningful. Bihu has now transcended geographical boundaries and gained global recognition," the Governor said.
Sarma, in a post on X, also greeted people on the occasion.
"Today marks Bohag, the vibrant beginning of a new year and the very heartbeat of life in Assam. On this joyous and deeply cherished day, I extend my heartfelt greetings and warm wishes to my beloved people of Assam. May this new year bring happiness, prosperity, and renewed hope to every home," he said.
Gogoi said Bohag Bihu is a profound feeling connected to Assamese people's existence, culture and land.
"Today is the first Bohag, the first day of the Assamese New Year. May our lives shine with a new light of hope as the arrival of the New Year revives nature," he said.
The Assam Congress president prayed that the state be filled with happiness, peace and prosperity.
"In this new year, let us all move forward together to make our Assam even more beautiful with the tone of hope, love and unity. Happy Assamese New Year to everyone," he added.
Rongali or Bohag Bihu celebrations kick off mid-April on the last day of the Assamese calendar, ‘Chot 30’.
Dance, music and feasting highlight the celebrations, with communities coming together to soak in the festive atmosphere. 'Rongali' is derived from 'Rong', meaning joy and celebration.
Bihu has arrived, and the joy is all around.
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 14, 2026
A lovely glimpse from the Nabarun Jeng Bihu team of Simaluguri, Narayanpur
A delight to watch ♥️ pic.twitter.com/lfAPVSiK7L
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EC only removed infiltrators from Bengal voters’ list, task is to throw them out of country: Shah
Kolkata (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that while the Election Commission has only removed infiltrators from the electoral rolls of West Bengal, the larger task would be to drive them out of the country’s borders.
Sharpening his anti-infiltration pitch during campaigns for the upcoming assembly elections in Bengal, Shah said once the BJP forms a government in the state, it will “seal the country’s eastern borders in such a manner that even birds won’t be able to flap their wings” around the fences.
"Didi (Mamata Banerjee) doesn’t want to give 600 acres of land to the BSF required to build the border fences. We have decided that once we have a BJP chief minister here, we will complete the task of fencing within 45 days on the required land," Shah told a gathering at Tufangunj in the Bangladesh-bordering Cooch Behar district of north Bengal.
“And it’s not just about stopping outsiders from coming in. It’s also about those who have already infiltrated. While the Election Commission (EC) has only removed infiltrators from the electoral rolls of West Bengal, the larger task would be to drive them out of the country’s borders,” he added.
Nearly 91 lakh names have been deleted by the EC from the state’s voters’ lists during the recently concluded SIR exercise, triggering a major political dust-up in the run-up to the polls, with the TMC accusing the commission of acting at the behest of the BJP.
The Union home minister has been staying put in Bengal over the past few days and has held multiple rallies across the state in the run-up to the April 23 polls, when voters in north Bengal districts would exercise their franchise, sharpening the infiltration issue as one of the most prominent poll planks of the BJP.
Accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of having a "step-motherly attitude" towards north Bengal, Shah said that her priorities lay elsewhere.
“Of the Rs 4 lakh crore total state budget, she gave Rs 5,700 crore to Muslims, but allotted only Rs 1,200 crore for the entire north Bengal region,” he said.
Shah announced the inclusion of the Rajbanshi language in the Constitution’s 8th schedule and the setting up of a Narayani battalion, in honour of the community’s erstwhile Narayani Sena militia, in the state reserve police force once the BJP forms a government in Bengal.
Earlier, while addressing a rally in Rajgunj in Jalpaiguri district, the Union home minister pledged that the BJP will recover every penny the TMC has "stolen from the people of Bengal through corruption", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has no taint of graft charge even after two decades in the ruler's seat.
He said that while Banerjee's exit from power was a "certainty", the task of initiating the process would begin from the state's northern regions.
"Modi ruled Gujarat for 12 years and is at the helm in the Centre for another 12; yet no corruption charge, involving even a penny, could be levelled against him. Vote the BJP to power in Bengal, and we will recover each and every cent that TMC leaders have stolen from people, along with interest, and return it to the poor people of the state," Shah said at the poll rally.
He said that once the BJP is in power, it will act against TMC leaders who "gobbled up Rs 300 crore by orchestrating the teachers' recruitment scam" and the Rs 100 crore that was "stolen" from the flood relief funds sanctioned by the Centre for north Bengal.
"North Bengal is known for three Ts -- Tea, Timber and Tourism. But Mamata Banerjee has added a fourth T -- tears of BJP workers who have suffered immeasurably in the hands of TMC goons," Shah said.
"Search and press the button next to lotus (BJP's poll symbol) on EVMs and the BJP will fulfil its task of searching for TMC goons and bringing them to justice," he added.
Speaking at a subsequent public meeting at Falakata in Alipurduars district, Shah referred to the attack on Deepak Barman, the sitting MLA and BJP’s candidate from the Falakata Assembly constituency, allegedly by a group of TMC workers on Tuesday, a day ahead of the Union home minister’s visit.
“I want to tell Mamata Banerjee that your goons cannot intimidate him (Barman), he is a BJP worker. I would want to assure him that after May 5 (a day after counting of votes), no one can lay fingers on you. I will warn TMC goons to stay at home on April 23, the day of polls, else after May 5 we will hang you upside down to make you straight,” Shah said.
Advocating for an infiltrator-free north Bengal, the Union home minister said the Modi government, “which ended Naxalism in India and gave befitting replies to perpetrators of terrorism on the country’s soil”, will now detect infiltrators in Bengal and elsewhere to throw them out.
“On this very day, a BJP chief minister has taken oath in Bihar. We already have our government in Odisha. Elect the BJP in Bengal and the lotus (BJP’s party symbol) will bloom across the haloed trinity of Aang-Bang-Kaling. We will stop infiltrators from sneaking inside the country once and for all, as we have done in Assam and Tripura,” he said.
While announcing a host of north Bengal-centric development schemes which the BJP has also promised in its poll manifesto, Shah said the party will issue land titles to tea garden workers, making them plot owners, after forming a government in the state.
“We will increase tea worker wages by Rs 500 within two years, reimburse their deducted Provident Fund money, set up modern model schools in tea estates and ensure that the one-time grant of Rs 3,000 for all tea employees sanctioned by the Modi government at Centre reaches their bank accounts,” he said.
Launching a scathing attack against TMC supremo, Shah said that while Modi considered all people his brothers, sisters and nephews, Banerjee cared only for one nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.
“All she wants is to make her nephew the future CM of Bengal. But I want to tell her that her time has come to an end. She will be on exit route once the elections in West Bengal ends,” he said.
