Guwahati: Parents should not be harassed for the actions of their children, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said, while defending his Cabinet colleague Keshab Mahanta, whose daughter participated in a protest in Guwahati recently, calling for the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET UG 2026 paper leak controversy.
Mahanta’s daughter Dibisa had been spotted participating in a protest at Chachal in Guwahati on Thursday.
Mahanta is a leader from BJP’s regional ally, Asom Gana Parishad, and is currently the minister for revenue and disaster management; science, technology and climate change; and general administration in the Government of Assam.
The presence of his daughter in a protest, seeking the resignation of a Union minister had led to some rumblings in the state.
Purported videos from the protest site also showed Dibisa – who completed two postgraduate degrees from the UK last year – raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seeking “justice”, as reported by The Indian Express.
“It is very sad, and I cannot express how bad I feel about the violence that is going on. The students just wanted to do a peaceful protest, which went so violent. There was a lathi-charge, there was tear gas, everything went on, but I want to say that I’m so proud of each and every student who showed up that day and showed their bravery, and they inspired me to come out here,” she can be purportedly heard saying in another video.
Mahanta, who is engaged in flood relief activities, has not commented on the matter, but Sarma weighed in when a reporter asked him about it after a press conference on Saturday night.
“How can I be answerable for what my children say? My own brother does not agree with anything I say. My children also don’t agree with a lot of things I say… All the reporters here who make reels against the BJP, their parents are all BJP… She has spoken against Modi ji, (and) I am sad about that. If I ever meet her, I will speak to her as well,” he said.
“Don’t be surprised if my son, too, says something wrong tomorrow. My son will be a lawyer in the future and may represent people I don’t like. Once children grow up and become adults, their actions should not be linked with their parents… What she said was wrong, but for that, we will speak to the girl. Why will we harass the father?” he said.
At least six persons have been arrested by the Assam Police in connection with the protest under charges that include “acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India”, promoting enmity between different groups and criminal conspiracy.