BJP cancels ‘Bihar Diwas’ celebration plan in Assam

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the opposition to the celebration of ‘Bihar Diwas’ displayed communal hatred. File photo
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Bharatiya Janata Party has dropped its plan to celebrate ‘Bihar Diwas’ in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia on March 22 following protests by some regional political parties, community-based organisations, and the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent).

State BJP president and MP, Dilip Saikia said the party decided not to celebrate the Bihar-specific day to avoid hurting local sentiments. He, however, pointed out that Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Nagaland, and other States have celebrated ‘Assam Diwas’.

“The day for Bihar was to be celebrated as ‘Sneh Milan Utsav’ (festival of affection and togetherness) as part of the BJP’s ‘Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat’ programme over the past few years to promote coexistence across the country. We decided to cancel the Tinsukia programme following calls from certain sections,” he said on Wednesday (March 19, 2025) night.

He added that the day would now be observed in other parts of Assam.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the opposition to the celebration of ‘Bihar Diwas’ displayed communal hatred.

“When a day for Assam can be celebrated in other States, we should ideally reciprocate. Such antipathy and narrow-mindedness could put off investors,” he said, reminding people of the impact the display of “such attitude” could have on people from Assam studying and working elsewhere in India.

The ULFA(I) on Wednesday warned the organisers of ‘Bihar Diwas’ of dire consequences if they went ahead with the plan of celebrating a State that is one of the representatives of “Indian occupational forces”. This followed an outrage among indigenous communities such as Ahoms and Morans.

Activist-turned-MLA Akhil Gogoi, who heads Raijor Dal, slammed the BJP for its bid to organise ‘Bihar Divas’ with an eye on the Hindi-speaking voters in Assam. Elections in the State are due by April-May 2026.

Another regional party, the Assam Jatiya Parishad also criticised the BJP for “insulting the Assamese people” with its plan to “appease” people from Bihar.