Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Friday visited Guwahati to pay homage to late singer Zubeen Garg and meet his family.
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During his visit, Gandhi visited Garg’s cremation site in Sonapur and family home in Kahilipara, where he met Garg’s father Mohini Mohan Borthakur and wife Garima Saikia Garg.
Garg had passed away on September 19 in Singapore at age 52. His sudden death threw Assam into a state of collective mourning and has since become a political talking-point in the election-bound state.
Speaking to the media after meeting Garg’s family, Gandhi called for “closure” for the family.
“It’s a tragedy that the whole state is facing. I’ve spoken to the family and they only said one thing. That we have lost our Zubeen and all we want, is that the truth be told. That we, who loved him so much, and the people of Assam whose lives he changed, who also love him, want to know what happened. They want to know what happened because they want closure. And I think it is the duty of the government to quickly investigate what has happened, transparently investigate what has happened and tell the family, Zubeen ji’s widow, his sister, father exactly what happened,” he said.
Speaking about Garg, who was a cultural icon in Assam, Gandhi said, “When I was 17 years old, I went for a mountaineering course in Sikkim and every day, we would go for training, I would see Mount Kanchenjunga in front of me. And what I liked about the mountain was that it was honest, transparent, unshakeable and beautiful. Today, while I was coming, Gaurav said that Zubeen ji said he was Kanchenjunga. And immediately it connected with me, that he was Kanchenjunga because he had the qualities of Kanchenjunga… told Zubeen ji’s father that his wisdom, his support, built Zubeen ji, gave a voice to this wonderful state. And that we all thank him, the entire family, and of course, Zubeen Garg ji for what they have done, not just for Assam but for the whole country.”
