Overview
- On Friday, July 10, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state did not order the partial removal of the Zubeen Garg mural and cited statements from the two painters who told police they erased the image because it did not resemble the singer.
- Sarma told deputy commissioners and superintendents of police to stop unauthorised paintings on flyovers and said people who paint without permission — including members of student groups he named — should be arrested.
- The chief minister proposed a formal process for public portraits in which the family or foundation would supply approved reference photographs for artists to use, and he offered dedicated flyover gallery spaces for planned murals.
- The mural was repainted by original artist Marshall Baruah and others in mid‑June, drawing large crowds and escalating a clash between grassroots artists and state authorities over control of public space.
- Sarma argued Ganeshguri should honour the 15 victims of the 2008 serial blasts, urged local figures be chosen over foreign icons like Che Guevara, and framed the dispute as part of a wider debate over who decides public memory and civic art.