The opposition Congress on Monday said that the party will launch a series of protest programmes in Assam seeking an investigation into the alleged land grabbing scam involving Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife and son.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Kumar Borah on Monday said in Guwahati that party workers will hold protests from January 10 to February 6 in all districts to press for the demand of a judicial probe.
“All our district committees have lined up a series of programmes in this period and all our senior leaders, including MPs and MLAs, will take part in them. We will submit memorandums to the DC (deputy commissioners) for forwarding it to the governor seeking a judicial probe,” Borah said.
If the government does not constitute a probe panel by February 6, the Congress will intensify its protests in every constituency and will take it to the national level, he said.
“We will raise the issue in Parliament as well. We will protest against this unprecedented land scam inside and outside Parliament. We will take it to the President’s House and Jantar Mantar (in Delhi). We will not sit quiet,” Borah said.
The chief minister is evicting poor people from encroached land while he and his family have grabbed government land meant for the landless people, he alleged.
“The government has to institute a probe, or else prepare for a massive democratic movement,” the senior Congress leader said.
He said that the APCC had submitted a memorandum to the Assam Governor seeking a judicial probe on the matter, but nothing has been done in this regard so far.
“We then raised the issue during the Winter Session of assembly and brought an adjournment motion to discuss the scam. But the Speaker gave various excuses and dismissed our petition,” Borah said.
A company belonging to Chief Minister Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma and son Nandil Biswa Sarma has allegedly illegally grabbed government land on Guwahati outskirts.
The Congress leaders said a total of seven plots in North Guwahati were allegedly allocated to RBS realtors between 2008 and 2009 Plot 1- 4.37 acre land: Assam government allotted 4.37 acre ceiling surplus land to Lalmoti Talukdar on condition that it couldn’t be sold for ten years.