Rahul pays tribute to Zubeen, seeks transparent probe in death case

Guwahati: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday called for a transparent investigation into the death of Zubeen Garg and said his party wishes to honour the legendary singer.“It is the duty of the government to quickly investigate what has happened, transparently investigate what has happened, and tell the family exactly what happened in Singapore,” said Rahul, who paid his respects to the late singer at his cremation ground in Sonapur, on the outskirts of the city.He later visited Zubeen’s family at their residence in Kahilipara. He was accompanied by Congress state president and deputy leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Gaurav Gogoi.When asked if he would demand Bharat Ratna for the singer, he said, “I don’t want to digress. I don’t want to take the discussion away from offering condolences, from telling the people of Assam that we love Zubeen Garg. We want to honour him. We wish to honour him. But first we want transparency and justice. Everybody in Assam should know what happened in Singapore. And the sooner it happens, the better.”Zubeen died allegedly while swimming in the sea in Singapore on Sept 19. He went to the island nation on Sept 17 and was scheduled to perform in the North East India Festival on Sept 20.Remembering Zubeen’s dialogue “….Moi Kanchanjangha (I am Kanchenjunga)” in his Assamese film “Kanchanjangha” released in 2019, Rahul said, “When I was 17 years old, I went for a mountaineering course in Sikkim. Every day when we would go for training, I would see Mount Kanchenjunga in front of us. What I liked about the mountain was that it was honest, transparent, unshakable and beautiful. Today, while I was coming, Gaurav said Zubeen ji said he was Kanchanjunga, and immediately it connected to me that he was Kanchanjunga because he had the qualities of Kanchenjunga.”Zubeen had directed and starred in “Kanchanjangha” that shows a rebellious young man fighting a corrupt system.Rahul said, “It’s a tragedy that the whole state has faced. I spoke to the family, and they only said one thing to me — that we have lost our Zubeen and all we want is that the truth should be clear that we love him so much and the people of Assam, who heard him, whose life he changed, who also loved him want to know what happened.”He added that he told Zubeen’s father Kapil Thakur that his wisdom and support built Zubeen and gave a voice to the state. He thanked the entire family, including Zubeen, for their contribution for Assam and the whole country.He added, “It’s very sad for me to come under these circumstances. I mentioned to the family that I would have liked to come under better circumstances, happier circumstances.”The Congress leader said he wanted to offer his condolences to the people of Assam who have “suffered this cruel blow without expecting it.” “Out of the blue, you have lost someone so important and someone you loved. I stand with you in your grief,” he added.