Himanta Biswa Sarma: Personal attacks on family backfired on Opposition in Assam
Synopsis
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma used the Assembly floor to declare that five years of personal attacks on his family — including fake passport allegations against his wife and truckloads of defamatory pamphlets — had boomeranged on the Opposition at the polls. The speech was as much a political reckoning as a governance statement.
Key Takeaways
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on 26 May accused the Opposition of running a sustained personal attack campaign against his family over five years.
Sarma alleged fake claims that his wife held multiple duplicate passports were deliberately circulated to mislead voters.
Two truckloads of defamatory pamphlets were reportedly recovered near an MLA’s residence, with those involved allegedly acting on senior leaders’ orders.
Sarma argued that Assam voters rejected character-assassination politics and voted for development and employment instead.
Opposition legislators protested, accusing the BJP government of diverting attention from key public issues.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday, 26 May launched a pointed counter-offensive against the Opposition inside the state Assembly, asserting that personal attacks on his family — including his wife — had decisively cost the Opposition at the ballot box. Without naming the Indian National Congress directly, Sarma accused a section of the Opposition of substituting character assassination for policy debate over the past five years.
What Sarma Said on the Floor
Participating in a House discussion, Sarma declared that recent election results had delivered an unambiguous verdict against what he called ‘abusive politics.’ “The election results have clearly proved that the people of Assam never support personal attacks and abusive politics,” he told legislators.
He alleged that a section of the Opposition had, both inside and outside the Assembly, systematically targeted his family — particularly his wife — in an attempt to engineer electoral gains. He claimed that fake allegations about his wife holding multiple duplicate passports were deliberately circulated to mislead voters.
The Pamphlet Controversy
Sarma cited a specific incident to illustrate the alleged campaign: he claimed that two truckloads of pamphlets carrying defamatory content about his family were recovered near the residence of a sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). He added that individuals involved later admitted they had acted on the instructions of senior leaders, though he declined to name anyone directly.
The Chief Minister also alleged that certain newspapers ran sustained negative coverage against him and his government for months, characterising it as coordinated media pressure rather than independent journalism.
The Mandate, as Sarma Reads It
Sarma framed the election outcome as a public endorsement of development-first politics over personal vilification. “The people of Assam have sent a clear message that they want development and progress, not politics centred around attacking someone’s family,” he said. He urged all legislators — including those in the Opposition — to honour that mandate by focusing on employment generation and constituency development.
Opposition Pushback
The remarks immediately triggered protests from the Opposition benches. Legislators accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of using the floor to deflect attention from substantive public issues rather than address governance concerns. The exchange underscored the continuing acrimony between the ruling dispensation and the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly.
With the next round of legislative business ahead, the episode signals that political temperatures in Guwahati remain elevated even after the election cycle, raising questions about whether the Assembly session will pivot to policy or remain mired in political recrimination.
Point of View
He sidesteps scrutiny of his own administration’s record. The pamphlet episode — two truckloads recovered near an MLA’s residence — remains unverified by any independent authority, yet it was presented as settled fact on the legislative floor. More broadly, the episode reflects a pattern across Indian state legislatures where election outcomes are used to delegitimise dissent rather than engage with it. Whether Assam’s voters rejected the Opposition because of personal attacks or despite other factors is a question the speech conspicuously leaves unanswered.
NationPress
11 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma say in the Assembly on 26 May?
Sarma alleged that a section of the Opposition spent five years targeting his family — including his wife — through personal attacks, fake allegations, and defamatory pamphlets, and argued that voters rejected this approach at the recent elections. He made the remarks during a House discussion without directly naming the Congress.
What were the fake allegations Sarma referred to?
Sarma alleged that false claims were circulated stating his wife possessed multiple duplicate passports, which he described as a deliberate attempt to mislead the public. He said these allegations were part of a broader coordinated campaign against his family.
What is the pamphlet incident Sarma mentioned?
Sarma claimed that two truckloads of pamphlets containing objectionable content about his family were recovered near the residence of a sitting MLA. He said individuals involved later admitted they had acted on the instructions of senior Opposition leaders, though he named no one directly.
How did the Opposition respond to Sarma’s speech?
Opposition legislators protested from their benches, accusing the BJP government of using the Assembly floor to divert attention from substantive public issues rather than addressing governance and welfare concerns.
Why does this speech matter politically?
The remarks signal that despite the election cycle ending, political tensions in the Assam Assembly remain high. Sarma’s framing of the verdict as a rejection of personal-attack politics sets the tone for how the ruling BJP intends to engage — or deflect — Opposition criticism in the coming legislative session.
