Assam CM to file civil, criminal defamation cases against Congress leaders on Feb 9

Jorhat, Feb 4: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Wednesday, said he would initiate both civil and criminal defamation proceedings against senior Congress leaders over what he described as false and defamatory allegations made against him earlier in the day.

In a post on a microblogging website, Sarma said the legal action would be initiated on February 9, against Jitendra Singh Alwar, Bhupesh Baghel, Gaurav Gogoi and Debabrata Saikia for what he termed “false, malicious and defamatory” statements made during a press conference.

"...The era of hit-and-run politics is over. If they have even an ounce of courage or evidence, let them prove every allegation before a court of law. I will not be intimidated by propaganda, coordinated slander, or political theatrics of so called slaves of Gandhi family," the post read.

The Chief Minister’s reaction came hours after Assam Congress president Gogoi alleged that Sarma’s family had grabbed nearly 12,000 bighas (over 3,960 acres) of land across the state.

Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan on Wednesday afternoon, Gogoi claimed that the Congress party had carried out an internal investigation which, according to him, revealed “startling findings.”

The Chief Minister had, earlier on Wednesday, reiterated the Assam government’s “pushback” policy against illegal immigrants, asserting that conditions must be created so that those staying illegally “cannot continue to live in Assam.”

Speaking about Gogoi on the sidelines of a welfare-scheme seed-capital distribution event in Sivasagar, Sarma said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) report, scheduled to be made public on February 8, would reveal “damning details” of what he termed a global conspiracy to derail Bharat.

“This is not against one individual, but against a system. What we have uncovered so far is only preliminary because international cooperation and electronic evidence are involved,” he said.

Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi, who was also present at the event, said he appreciated that no political attacks were made by the Chief Minister from the stage.

“What I liked most is that the Chief Minister did not speak on politics today, apart from explaining the scheme, nor did he target me,” Gogoi said.

Reasserting his political stance, the Sivsagar legislator said, “Sivasagar is the centre of indigenous Assamese people. I will fight in Sivasagar and will win.”

He also announced that if his party comes to power, the Orunodoi scheme would be expanded to cover all eligible beneficiaries, with the monthly assistance increased from Rs 1,250 to Rs 3,000.