Banners in Bengali text at Durga Puja pandals not intended to hurt Assamese language: Ranjeet Kumar Dass

Silchar, Oct 28: Amidst the controversy stirred over the incidents of the removal of banners of Durga Puja celebrations written in Bengali text at various places of the state, Minister for Panchayat and Rural Development, Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Law and Justice Department Ranjeet Kumar Das on Friday opined that the installation of banners in Bengali text was not intended to hurt Assamese language in any way.

Responding to the questions by media persons at the Cachar District Commissioner’s office, Dass, who is in Barak Valley to assess and review the progress of his departmental activities and setting targets for the next two months, said, “Assam is a land of multicultural and multilingual milieu in which the official language and associate language must be respected. I firmly believe that the incident of installing banners in Bengali text during Durga Puja celebrations was not intentional to hurt sentiments of Assamese language in any way whatsoever."

"Bengali speaking people in Brahmaputra Valley have accepted and absorbed the Assamese language into their life and culture and their children are studying in Assamese medium schools. Also, the bond of harmony between the two valleys is manifested by the love and regards for Bir Lachit Borphukan, as there is a statue of Bir Lachit installed in the premises of Cachar DC’s office recently and there is also a Lachit Udyan in Karimganj district. Whatever has happened during the Durga Puja celebrations must be due to misunderstandings which should be solved for the larger interest,” Dass added.

It may be mentioned that the incidents of banners in Bengali text at various Durga Puja pandals being removed and torn at various places of the state triggered strong repercussions across Barak Valley. Former Silchar MP Sushmita Dev, North Karimganj MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purakyastha and many associations including Barak Upotyokya Banga Sahitya o Sanskriti Sammelan, Amra Bangali have condemned the incidents and expressed deep concerns over the developments.

On the other hand, the Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs informed that 40 lakh new Ration card will be distributed across the state by December this year out of which 80,000 cards will be distributed in Cachar district for which the process has been initiated. Lakhipur MLA Kaushik Rai, Silchar MLA Dipayan Chakraborty, Amitabh Rai, the president of Cachar Zilla Parishad and Cachar District Commissioner Rohan Kumar Jha accompanied the minister during the visit.