“I don’t want to become a political football. I believe the people of the region are behind me, they have always adored me.”

IS Bhupen Hazarika hurt by the denial of nomination to the Rajya Sabha? He is not opening up and hence no one can say for sure what his feelings are. But millions of his fans across Assam and beyond are hurt at the ‘dishonour’ to him. This public anger was in full display when the doctor arrived in Guwahati after the RS nomination list was out. The All Guwahati Students’ Union accorded a hero’s welcome to the cultural icon and escorted him from the airport to his residence at Nijarapar..

Hazarika said: I have plenty of gold medals eched with my name. So the question of my not making to the upper house does not demean me. I would continue to be what I am. And I don’t know why I cannot make it to Rajya Sabha, although I was in the list of final five. About the ULFA barbs against him, Hazarika said I do not require certificate from anyone. I have worshipped my work for all these years. I have burnt my feet, propagating the message of love and brotherhood. “My songs are the carrier of social revolution and evolution.  I will continue to sing and propagate message throughout the world. It is a noble work which the destiny has ordained for me.” Hazarika further said that he never sought any job. He believed that if he could have made to the Upper House, he could have worked for the upliftment of culture in the region. ‘But now since I am not there, my commitment to the cause of culture has not lowered.,’ On the question of Asom Gana Parishad nominating him as their Rajya Sabha candidate, he smiled and said politics is not my profession.

“I don’t want to become a political football. I will analyse, read and weight the whole situation and only then comment on the proposals made by the different political parties. I will talk to different segments of people before jumping into the RS fray. I believe the people of the region are behind me, they have always adored me, even while flying from New Delhi one of the Arunachal Pradesh MP assured me ‘Bhupen da, we are by your side, we will stand by you’. 

“I will continue to work for the masses. I know our region is neglected by the centre. I will take to streets, for the cause of the people. I am overwhelmed by the reception, not only the older generation but the younger too loves me and has the respect for the beloved Bhupen da. If I had known that I will receive such a welcome, I would have dressed well and sprinkled some perfume.’ Hazarika was felicitated by the students of Rajdhar Bora Higher Secondary School, Paschim Gauhati Mahavidyalay, besides the students of Gauhati University, Maligaon Chatra Santha, faculty members of Cotton College and Handique College. Between 1998 and 2002, Centre has released Rs 18.46 crore for projects that benefit all the states. Meanwhile, Dr Hazarika has expressed his readiness to accept the offer of the State’s political parties to send him to the Rajya Sabha, but as an independent candidate backed by the parties as a consensus one. “I have never been and will never be a member of any political party, especially at this age just to obtain a Rajya Sabha seat,” Dr Hazarika, said in a signed statement.

Whether the people of the State and their elected representatives finally send him to the Rajya Sabha or not, Dr Hazarika said he would always continue to serve the people of Assam and the rest of India, his motherland, to the best of his ability. Offering his thanks to all those who met him, who came out on the streets to cheer him, who wrote to him, who phoned him, expressed their anguish in newspapers for him, during these days, Dr Hazarika said that he was deeply and forever grateful to all of them for their faith in him. “All these have brought tears to my eyes and has further strengthened his pursuit to serve the people in Assam, North-east, rest of India and abroad,” he said, reminding his conviction of ‘born to be an artist, a cultural worker, a poet, a singer, a social crusader, a conscience of society’. However, the renowned musician clarified that he had never been an applicant, nor manipulated any move with any political party to obtain the presidential nomination for the Rajya Sabha.  He came to know of his name being shortlisted as one of the first five nominees on the President’s list for the Rajya Sabha while he was attending the premiere of his latest film Kyon in Delhi. “Suddenly I was flooded with congratulatory phone calls from Delhi, Mumbai, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal, USA, UK and Dubai”, said the Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner artiste. This followed newspaper reports the next day.

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