Tarun Gogoi (English: Tarun Gogoi; Born- October 11, 1936, Assam; Died- November 23, 2020, Guwahati) was one of the prominent politicians of the Indian National Congress, who served as the Chief Minister of Assam from 2001 to 2016. . Tarun Gogoi, a member of the Indian National Congress, had registered three consecutive election victories in Assam. Tarun Gogoi became the Chief Minister of Assam on May 17, 2001. He completed 15 consecutive years as Chief Minister on May 24, 2016.
Tarun Gogoi was born on October 11, 1936 in Assam. Tarun Gogoi, a six-time Lok Sabha MP and Union Minister, gradually climbed the ladder of success in the Congress after completing his law studies. During the time of Indira Gandhi, he first became Joint Secretary in the All India Congress Committee and then was appointed General Secretary during the time of Rajiv Gandhi. Tarun Gogoi is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Tarun Gogoi was a democratic person in every way. Even after being senior, he took criticism in the right perspective. This also includes criticism of his government for not being able to secure large-scale investments in Assam. According to JP Saikia, former Information Director of Assam – “You could write news against his government, even if there is a lot of criticism in the story; but in the next press conference too, he will be seen smiling at you and today’s politicians Didn’t behave aggressively.”
Tarun Gogoi’s focus was on solving the problems of extremism in Assam, including the ULFA armed movement, the Bodo separatist movement and the armed insurgency of the Dimasa and Karbi communities. When ULFA militants split in 2010, they were partially successful; Because this led many extremist leaders to return to talks with the Centre. At that time most of the big leaders of ULFA lived in Bangladesh. Many believe that Tarun Gogoi wanted to retain the Congress’s support among the natives of Assam, which it had lost during the six-year long struggle from 1979 to 1985. The Congress government remained in power in the state till 2016, a testament to the fact that both the Congress and Gogoi were popular among the people of Assam, but then in the 2016 elections, the BJP won a landslide victory in the state.
Former Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi, ‘well mannered but clever’, who spoke very little, died on November 23, 2020 at the age of 84. He was admitted to GMCH on 2 November. After his health deteriorated, he was put on ventilator. Tarun Gogoi was found infected with corona virus on August 25, 2020 and was admitted to GMCH the next day. He was later discharged from the hospital. Paying tribute to Tarun Gogoi, President Ramnath Kovind said, “I am very sad to hear the news of Gogoi’s demise”. The President tweeted, “Deeply saddened to hear the demise of Shri Tarun Gogoi, former Chief Minister of Assam. The country has lost an experienced leader with rich political and administrative experience. His long tenure in office was a game changer for Assam. It was a time of change”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute by tweeting. PM Modi tweeted, “Shri Tarun Gogoi ji was a popular leader and senior administrator, who had years of political experience in Assam as well as at the Centre. I am saddened by his demise. My heart goes out to you in this hour of grief.” Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti. Meanwhile, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted – “Tarun Gogoi was a true Congress leader. He sacrificed his entire life to bring together all the people and communities in Assam. For me, he was a great and skilled teacher. I remember him.” Loved and respected him with all my heart. My love and condolences to Gaurav and his family.”
