Guwahati: Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kr Bhuyan has dared Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to respond to the questions raised by him regarding the funds collected by the latter’s family members in the name of three organisations.
“If Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma has the courage, he should answer the questions I have raised publicly earlier. And if you are afraid to answer, say so publicly. I need answers to those questions,” Bhuyan, a veteran journalist, told reporters in New Delhi on Saturday.
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Earlier On January 29, MP Bhuyan in a tweet had called upon Chief Minister Sarma to ‘come clean on how much money Pride East Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, Sneha Bandhan and Udayachal have taken so far from the govt…”
Pride East Entertainment Pvt. Ltd is a company owned by Rinki Bhuyan Sarma, wife of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Sneha Bandhan and Udayachal are two NGOs based in Guwahati, which are run by Rinki Bhuyan Sarma.
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Bhuyan had also asked the Chief Minister to make the ‘details of funds raised by these three organizations in Lucky Ali and A R Rahman concerts’ public.
Strongly refuting the allegations of the misuse of MP funds, Bhuyan said Chief Minister Sarma has orchestrated a conspiracy to wreak vengeance on him.
“This has been done as I raised some serious questions against Chief Minister Sarma,” said the renowned journalist.
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He said that Sarma has instructed the Chief Minister’s Special Vigilance Cell, Assam to register a case to detect anomalies in the utilization of MP funds allocated to Bhuyan.
Bhuyan further said at the behest of Sarma, a section of journalists, who have close links with the CM, has made an attempt on social media as well as in mainstream media to malign his image.
Regarding the allegation of the misuse of the MP fund, Bhuyan said, “It is a pity that a Chief Minister does not know who can spend the money of the MP Development Fund and how. The MP cannot spend the money at his discretion.”
“There is a government committee and the MP only has to inform the committee what work is being done in which area. In the next stage, the fund is released in installments under the supervision of the deputy commissioner of the district concerned,” he added.
“Where is the loophole for an MP to misuse funds here, Mr Chief Minister?” Bhuyan further asked.
“I will make public the details of the expenditure of every rupee of my MP fund if necessary. But does Chief Minister Sharma have the courage to make public how he had spent government funds when he was the Health Minister during previous governments? Can he explain to whom he had awarded contrasts of health department and now does anyone other than the contractors close to the Chief Minister has got contracts of the Assam PWD?” Bhuyan said.
“Finally, I would urge you not to take any action against these bureaucrats because of your political animosity toward me. Instead, if you have the courage, arrest me. I am ready to be arrested,” he added.