Guwahati, April 7 -- Since assuming power in May 2021, the most visible "achievement" of the Assam government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma has been its relentless presence in the public eye. Day after day, Assamese newspapers have been saturated with government advertisements-announcements, foundation stone layings, inaugurations, and bhumi-pujans. It would be difficult to recall a single day in the past five years when such publicity was absent.

Ironically, this visibility contrasts sharply with the Assam Chief Minister's own repeated claim that he has neither read newspapers nor watched television news for the past decade. For ordinary citizens, the constant appearance of his smiling image in these very platforms raises an obvious questi...