Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 3 : Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday demanded that late musician Zubeen Garg be conferred the posthumous Bharat Ratna.
Raising the demand in the ongoing winter session of Parliament, Gogoi, MP from Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency and Deputy Leader of Opposition Lok Sabha, stated that Zubeen Garg was a great artist, an environmentalist and wildlife enthusiast, a profound scholar, and a humanitarian.
The Congress MP said, "In the 90s, the great artist Zubeen Garg infused energy among all the people of Assam through his songs and music. In the subsequent period, Zubeen Garg provided moral courage to Assam and its people and became the backbone of the Assamese people."
Gogoi also demanded in Parliament that justice must be done to the beloved artist of Assam. In this regard, he said, "Zubeen was invited to and attended a function organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the High Commission of Singapore. And it was there that he met with a mysterious death."
Referring to the Assam Chief Minister's description of Zubeen's death as a murder, Gaurav Gogoi questioned the government in the lower house, "Who killed the beloved artist Zubeen Garg on foreign soil, after he went to a function organised by the central government?"
Gogoi further said that along with tea and the one-horned rhinoceros, Zubeen Garg is an identity of Assam.
"Through his songs, Zubeen Garg gave the mantra to find relief from the sorrows and sighs of personal life, and also taught society not to be divided along the lines of caste and religion. Zubeen Garg dreamt of building a greater Assam filled with peace, free from fear and hatred, and full of harmony. Zubeen Garg was the Kanchenjunga and will always remain the Kanchenjunga," Gogoi said while raising the demand to award the Bharat Ratna to the late artist.