Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been bestowed with the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship by the Singapore government. As part of the fellowship, the Chief Minister has been extended an invitation to visit Singapore as a Lee Kuan Yew fellow for his dedicated leadership in public works and development, the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), Assam stated. On the other hand, the state Congress has expressed displeasure over the honour given to CM Sarma demanding a withdrawal.
The prestigious fellowship is conferred on individuals in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the development of their nation and to bilateral relations with Singapore. The Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship was launched as a tribute to Lee Kuan Yew; Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, for his contributions to the nation. The patron of the fellowship is the Prime Minister of Singapore, a DIPR release informed.
Chief Minister Sarma has been chosen for the award in recognition of his role in championing the cause of development and international harmony. With this, Sarma has become the first Chief Minister from Assam to have been bestowed with the prestigious fellowship, it added.
With the conferment of the fellowship, the BJP leader has joined the likes of former Union Minister Arun Shourie, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and former Vice Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
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Launched in 1991, the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship invites outstanding individuals for high-level visits to Singapore.
Meanwhile, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) Chief Bhupen Kumar Borah has expressed displeasure over the Singapore government’s decision to confer the fellowship on Chief Minister Sarma.
“I am astounded by the Singapore government's decision to award the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Lee Kuan Yew, the father of Singapore, was an exemplary statesman who demonstrated honesty, hard work and civility all his life. On the other hand, Sarma exemplifies the opposite of everything that Lee Kuan Yew stood for,” Borah stated in a press release.
“Sarma is accused of several financial scams. He has regularly made highly communalised statements against the minorities. His government, while organising one public spectacle after another has failed to provide basic services to the citizens and all this while, the state has gone deeper and deeper into indebtedness. Therefore, I am going to write to the Singapore government through its embassy in India to withdraw the fellowship,” he added demanding for withdrawal of the honour.
The writer is a senior independent journalist covering the Northeast.
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