New Delhi, Jun 3: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said a decision on holding the class 12 exams in the state will be taken after the CBSE announces modalities for marking the students.
Addressing a press conference on his first visit to the national capital as chief minister, he also said that all willing residents of Assam will be vaccinated by the end of December as more COVID-19 vaccines will be arriving in the state from this month onwards.
Asked whether the class 12 exams conducted by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council will be cancelled, Sarma said a decision in this regard will be taken after consultation with all stakeholders as it is a question of a students'' future.
The Union government on Tuesday decided to cancel the CBSE Class 12 board exams amid the COVID-19 pandemic with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that the decision has been taken in the interest of students and that the anxiety among students, parents and teachers must be put to an end.
"We welcome the decision taken by the prime minister. We will wait till the CBSE announces the modalities for marking the students. We will have to take a practical decision as a guardian and take into consideration the students who aspire to pursue medical or engineering courses and what will be the admission criteria for them," he said.
On the issue of peace talks with insurgent groups, the chief minister said a peace treaty will be signed with an insurgent group of Karbi Anglong district next week.
Asked about the possibility of holding peace talks with major militant group ULFA, he said as elected public representatives, the ministers take oath to protect the sovereignty of India and it cannot be compromised.
"The ULFA wants sovereignty. So, we will have to find out a way on how to start the peace process and as a chief minister I will contribute in whatever way I can to create a conducive atmosphere," he said.
On the issue of COVID-19 vaccination in Assam, Sarma said 13 lakh vaccines were received by the state in May while 19 lakh vaccines will be received in June and 35 lakh in July.
"I am sure we will vaccinate all willing residents of Assam by the end of December," he said.
On the recent attack on a doctor engaged in COVID-19 duty, the chief minister said all those who were involved in the assault of the doctor were arrested and he has directed the police that investigation in the case should be completed in 15 days, charge sheet should be filed within a month and conviction should be ensured in three to six months.
"I want to tell everyone that there is zero tolerance to such inhuman acts. We will hit back and there will be a bigger reaction to such action," he said.
Sarma said during his four-day visit to Delhi, he met Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman among others.
"The prime minister advised me that I should visit every district and stay two nights there to gauge the problems of that district instead of going for a day-long visit in a helicopter. I will follow this advice and visit every district one by one every seven to 10 days," he said.
Sarma also said the prime minister has advised him to give responsibility to every minister and to talk to a group of eight MLAs — both ruling and opposition parties— every week and place their issues before the cabinet for resolution.
