Sarma, who held important portfolios like health and education in the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in Assam, is known to be an excellent administrator. In fact, he was perhaps the only member of the cabinet who earned the well-deserved reputation of being a man of action and a go-getter. Assam’s achievements in the health and education sectors were always touted as the prime achievements of the Tarun Gogoi government. Sarma was the poster boy of the government and in a cabinet full of slothful ministers, he was seen as the only ‘achiever’.