Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 5 : Manoj Chauhan, AICC General Secretary and Co-Incharge of Assam, claimed that Himanta Biswa Sarma is the most 'corrupt' Chief Minister in the entire country, while addressing a press conference on Friday.
He said, "Where is the Chief Minister's wealth not present today? Not only in Assam, but he owns unaccounted properties across India and even abroad."
Chauhan questioned how the Chief Minister's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, manages to purchase properties wherever she goes in Assam. He added, "Himanta Biswa Sarma once said he had no money in his hands and that he relies on his wife whenever needed. How did his wife accumulate such a large unaccounted-for wealth? Did she bring it from her mother's home?"
The Congress leader further said, "It was only after Himanta Biswa Sarma became a minister and later the Chief Minister that his wife suddenly became the owner of massive assets and multiple companies, making many things clear."
Referring to the Zubeen Garg case, Chauhan said that the moment he saw the Singapore video after hearing the news of the singer's death, he suspected it was murder. But at that time, the Chief Minister did not accept it. It took him 75 days to finally admit that the celebrated artist had indeed been murdered. This delay, Chauhan said, "Clearly exposes the failure of the Home Department under the Chief Minister's own charge."
Chauhan also commented on the state government's silence on the demand for ST status for six communities and the ongoing standstill at Tezpur University. He accused the Chief Minister of making frivolous comments rather than addressing public issues. He added that the Chief Minister is playing divisive politics over the ST status issue.
"This is a matter that only the Central Government can decide. But hiding the truth, the BJP has been misleading the people for 10-11 years. Now that elections are approaching, the Chief Minister suddenly remembers the ST issue," Chauhan remarked.
He further questioned why, if the Prime Minister and Home Minister love Assam so much--as the Chief Minister often claims--they failed to grant the long-pending demand in the past 10 years. "Is this what Modi and Shah call their love for Assam?" he asked.
Chauhan added that the Chief Minister only knows how to mislead the public with lies. He alleged that the Chief Minister is already attempting to return to power in the upcoming Assembly elections through the Election Commission.
Finally, Chauhan urged the people of Assam to remain vigilant so that the Chief Minister and the BJP cannot steal votes under any circumstances. He also appealed to everyone to ensure that no outsider can deprive the people of Assam of their voting rights.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Assam police is ready to submit its chargesheet before the court in connection with Zubeen Garg's death case.
A senior official of SIT said that they are almost ready to file the chargesheet before the court.
On the other hand, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that the SIT will submit the chargesheet by December 12.
"They (SIT) told me that they have around 3,500 documents. They held a meeting with the Advocate General yesterday to finalise it. December 18 is the last date, and they will submit the chargesheet between December 6 and December 12. We will have to submit the chargesheet before December 18. Otherwise, the persons who are currently in jail will get bail," the Chief Minister told reporters following an event held at Umrangso in Dima Hasao district on Friday.
The Chief Minister further said, "I told them (SIT) don't wait till December 18, file it before it."
The SIT/CID of Assam police have so far arrested seven persons, including main event organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Zubeen Garg's manager Siddharth Sharma, Sandipan Garg, bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, co-singer Amritprava Mahanta, Zubeen's PSOs Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya, in connection with Zubeen Garg's death case.