Guwahati: A day of political buzz unfolded in Assam on Friday after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma publicly declared that he owns no property beyond his official salary, prompting a sharp rebuttal from a journalist who pointed to his steadily growing assets as recorded in Election Commission of India (ECI) affidavits.
Speaking to reporters in Dibrugarh, Sarma had said his financial life was an open book. “I don’t have property at all. My wife works for her wellbeing — she does not steal or take anything unlawfully. If someone is earning honestly, then what is the issue? Apart from my salary, I do not have anything,” the Chief Minister stated.
Sarma’s remarks came amid renewed scrutiny of politicians’ personal finances, with critics across the country questioning the sharp rise in the declared wealth of public representatives.
Also Read: Assam: I only have my salary, nothing else, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Hours after the Chief Minister’s comments, Netraranjan Choudhury, Editor-in-Chief of the news portal Janaganabarta, challenged Sarma’s statement, citing data from the Chief Minister’s own affidavits filed before the ECI over the years.
According to those records in 2021, Sarma declared assets worth Rs 17.27 crore and liabilities of Rs 3.51 crore. In 2016, his assets stood at Rs 6.38 crore, with Rs 2.14 crore in liabilities. In 2011, they were Rs 3.06 crore (liabilities: Rs 87.93 lakh). In 2006, the figure was Rs 1.02 crore (liabilities: Rs 6.96 lakh).
“The rise from Rs 6.38 crore in 2016 to Rs 17.27 crore in 2021 is significant — even exponential,” Choudhury said. “Can such growth happen solely through an MLA’s salary?”
He also noted that, as per some reports, Sarma ranks among the top 10 richest Chief Ministers in India, adding with irony,
“If that’s only from a salary, then India would like to know his financial secret,” he said.
The exchange between the Chief Minister and the journalist has reignited a wider debate on financial transparency in Indian politics — a topic that often resurfaces around election seasons but rarely results in systemic reform.
While Sarma insists that both he and his family have always earned “honestly and lawfully,” voices like Choudhury’s reflect a growing public demand for greater disclosure and accountability among those in power.