‘Where’s the website?’: LoP grills govt over plan to share Zubeen Garg’s ashes

Guwahati, Oct 21: Leader of Opposition (LoP) Debabrata Saikia has questioned the Assam government over its alleged failure to fulfil its promise of distributing the ashes of late cultural icon Zubeen Garg across the state.

Describing it as a “symbolic promise that never saw the light of day”, Saikia said the government’s inaction has hurt fans and created confusion around how the artiste’s legacy was meant to be honoured.

“On the 23rd (September), when we cremated his body, the Education Minister announced that steps would be taken to distribute Garg’s ashes through a website. But where is that website now? So many fans applied—how many received anything? Not a single person I spoke to has," he told the press, in Guwahati, on Tuesday.

Saikia added that members of a Zubeen Garg fan club in Nazira told him the government later abandoned the plan and instead distributed soil collected from the ten bighas of land where the singer was cremated.

“If that was the plan, then why announce the distribution of ashes? It looks like an emotional gesture made in haste, without any real intention to deliver,” Saikia said, calling the situation “emotionally exploitative".

Saikia further criticised the Chief Minister’s decision to initially appoint a one-man commission instead of handing the case to the CID or CBI.

“The Chief Minister did not refer the case to the CID at first but set up a one-man commission. If transparency was the goal, why delay CID involvement?” he said.

“Now that the CID is investigating, why are details being leaked? There is no rule that allows information from an ongoing investigation to be shared publicly. Yet people are being called to the CID office and briefed with details. That is improper and unacceptable,” he added.

Saikia also questioned the CID’s raid on the residence of cultural activist Shyamkanu Mahanta, one of accused in the case.

“Was court permission taken before the raid? If the house was sealed, how did family members later enter? What is really going on?” he said, also raising concerns about Zubeen’s phone and its data, which he claimed remain “shrouded in mystery”.

Targeting the Chief Minister over recent comments on the investigation, Saikia said, “The Chief Minister said that if the CID fails, the case will go to the CBI. Is this an exam—pass or fail? The government must act with seriousness, not make casual remarks.”

Saikia went on to question why notices were not sent to Singapore-based organisers linked to the event Zubeen attended before his death. “If the government can send notices to Assamese citizens in Singapore, why not to officials of the Singapore High Commission involved in the event? They must also be held accountable,” he said.

Concluding, Saikia said Zubeen’s death was not just a personal loss but a collective cultural wound.

“Zubeen was not merely a singer—he was the voice and conscience of Assam. People deserve the truth. The government must stop hiding behind statements and give clear answers,” he said.