Hailakandi, Nov 3: Veteran politician, eminent lawyer and architect of the controversial IM(DT) Act, 1983 Abdul Muhib Mazumder passed away today at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) due to old-age related ailments.
He was 89 and left behind two daughters and a host of relatives and well-wishers. Mazumder had been undergoing treatment at the GMCH for more than a month. He was suffering from high blood pressure and heart-related problems, sources in the Congress party said.
His mortal remains were taken to the State Congress headquarters at Rajiv Bhawan, where Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia, former minister Abu Saleh Najmuddin, State Congress working president Jakir Hussain Sikdar, former minister Rakibul Hussain and others paid their last respects to the departed soul.
The mortal remains were also taken to his private residence at Hatigaon where his family members and others paid their last respects. The burial took place at the Islampur graveyard, former minister Najmuddin said.
The late Mazumder represented the Hailakandi constituency for four times in Assam Legislative Assembly and he served as a minister in the State cabinet twice, in 1983 under the then Chief Minister the late Hiteshwar Saikia, and again in 1996 under the then Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.
Abdul Muhib Mazumder originally hailed from Hailakandi and later settled in Guwahati. He studied in the Cotton College and the Aligarh Muslim University. He worked as an advocate in the Gauhati High Court as well as in the Supreme Court. He also served as an academician in Guwahati for some time. Mazumder joined active politics in 1970. He was very close to former Prime Minister, the late Indira Gandhi and assisted her legally in a case in 1977.
Mazumder served as Advocate General of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh for many years. He left the Congress party and formed the United People's Party of Assam (UPPA) in 1996 and entered into an alliance with AGP. He was also the president of the Assam unit of Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party for some time. Later he again returned to the Congress. His long political career witnessed many ups and downs over the years.
The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983, drafted by him was struck down by the Supreme Court of India in 2005 after the present Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Assam and the then AASU leader Sarbananda Sonowal challenged it. Mazumder's father, Abdul Matlib Mazumder, was also a prominent political personality, freedom fighter and represented Hailakandi constituency from 1946, besides serving as a minister in the State government multiple times.
Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi condoled the demise of the former minister and eminent lawyer.
"I am deeply saddened to hear about the demise of the former minister and well known lawyer Abdul Muhib Mazumder. The death of a hard-working, committed and dedicated person like him is a great loss to the society," Prof Mukhi said.
Expressing his heartfelt condolences, the Governor prayed to the Almighty for eternal peace of the departed soul. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also expressed his condolences over the demise of Mazumder. Sarma said that Mazumder's decades-long contributions to the society and politics of Assam would always be remembered.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Kumar Borah, former APCC president and Rajya Sabha member Ripun Bora, AIUDF president and Lok Sabha member Badruddin Ajmal, and minister Ashok Singhal, among others, also condoled the passing away of Mazumder.
