Syed Ali Mujtaba
New Delhi: The allegations against Assam Chief Minister and BJP show-boy in the east, Himanta Biswas Sarma are flying thick and fast in the northeast state, while the BJP is backing him for his anti-Muslim slurs and anti-Congress rants.
The Assam Congress has mounted a scathing attack on the Chief Minister of Assam for his large-scale corruption, calling it a ‘Double dhokha government.’
In a press conference in New Delhi on February 23, some prominent Congress leaders leveled allegations against the Assam CM. This was ahead of the ‘Advantage Assam 2.0 business summit’ inaugurated by PM Modi on February 24 in Guwahati.
The first allegation of the Congress was the Assam Chief Minister and his family members and associates had become business tycoons under the watchful eyes of the Bhartiya Janata Party.
“Himanta Biswas Sarma has built an entire empire in Assam. The Chief Minister, his family members, and associates own many tea gardens, including Kanchanjuri and Radha Krishna tea estates, news portals, a big outlet of McDonald’s, international schools, and lots of land. These lands are purchased in tribal areas, including Majuli, Kamrup, Guwahati, Nagaon, Golaghat, where land cannot be bought,” Congress general secretary in-charge of the State Jitendra Singh said in the press meet.
Mr. Singh also alleged that rat-hole mining was happening under the nose of the Assam Chief Minister and wondered why no action was being taken against the illegal mining.
Rakibul Hussain, the Lok Sabha MP from Dhubri, who was present at the press conference, alleged that “the Assam Chief Minister had links with the underground militant outfit, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). This was “recorded in a government affidavit in 1999”, he claimed.
Media has reported that Mr. Hussain was allegedly attacked by BJP supporters a few days ago in Assam for his allegation against Mr. Biswas.