RAHA, June 7 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday reopened the renovated Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bordoloi Museum at Raha in the presence of a large gathering including the officials of Directorate of Museums, Guwahati.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministers Naba Kumar Doley, Keshab Mahanta, MLAs Rupak Sharma, Angurlata Deka, Dimbeswar Das also attended a function organised by the Nagaon district administration marking the 128th birth anniversary of Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi, the first Chief Minister of Assam and the then Prime Minister, as chief guest, and guest of honour respectively.
Sonowal while speaking at the function said, � I am very happy to be here today and this is a great honour for me. I feel Raha can be proud of Gopinath Bordoloi who played a strong role during the grouping time and saved Assam from being included in Pakistan. Today Assam is proud of this great man for his tremendous dedication to the cause of Assam.�
Referring to Bordoloi�s patriotism and commitment towards his motherland, the Chief Minister said that Bordoloi�s dedication was even appreciated by leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. � He was such a man whom everyone regardless of caste, language, race, works and from hills to plains loved. So he was conferred the title �Lokopriyo� Sonowal added.
�It is high time we follow the path of Gopinath Bordoloi. We should refrain from doing any harm to any individual or to the society we live in. Citing a sloka from the Bhagavad Geeta, Sonowal said, �the secret of life and evolution is sacrifice made firm by faith. For ultimately, when we are able to stop clinging to what does not in essence belong to us � false views , false values the material world � then all doubts cease. And the joy and wealth of our birthright mysteriously appears.�
Before the public meeting, the Chief Minister took a tour of the museum and inspected various memorabilia associated with Gopinath Bordoloi kept there.
He also directed the Nagaon DC to take necessary steps for modernisation of the museum�s infrastructure so that people of the State, particularly the youths, can gain insights into the contributions of Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi to Assamese society.
Chief Minister Sonowal along with the people present on the occasion also observed one minute silence in Bordoloi�s memory on the occasion of his 128th birth anniversary.
Lokopriya Bordoloi�s son Robin Bardoloi spoke a few lines on his father. MLA Keshab Mahanta , Dimbeswar Das also delivered a speech on the occasion.
Preetam Saikia, Commissioner and Secretary of the Cultural Affairs department, Assam, Balin Bordoloi, Nagaon Deputy Commissioner Shamsher Singh, Nagaon SP Devraj Upadhay and other dignitaries were present at the function.
