GUWAHATI, Nov 18 - The Patriotic People�s Front Assam (PPFA) expressed profound grief at the demise of former Assam Governor Lieutenant General (retired) Srinivas Kumar Sinha, who breathed his last�on Thursday�in New Delhi.
The forum termed him as a patriot and a true friend of Assam.
As the constitutional head of Assam (1997 to 2003), Sinha contributed immensely for the Assamese society in particular. It was his report on millions of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in the State, which emerged as an important reference in the apex court�s verdict on scrapping of the Illegal Migration Detection by Tribunal (IMDT) Act.
�Param Vishist Sewa Medal winner Sinha (1926-2016) was instrumental in projecting three great personalities of Assam, namely Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardev, legendary hero Lachit Borphukan and Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi as national icons.
Sinha installed a huge portrait of Shankardev in the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhawan here. A statue of General Lachit was installed at the National Defence Academy in Pune and a gold medal instituted in his name with Sinha�s sole initiative,� a statement issued by Rupam Barua and Nava Thakuria on behalf of PPFA stated.
The forum also added that Sinha�s bid to rename Guwahati airport as Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport and posthumously honour Lokopriya with Bharat Ratna, besides installing a life size bronze statue of the great statesman in the premises of Lok Sabha in New Delhi, is well recognized.
�People of Assam will always remember Sinha as�Asom Bandhu because of his significant contributions in the time of enormous crisis,� it added.
