Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia shot off a letter to Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and demanded him to institute an inquiry into the news item relating to deals in various projects and tenders between Anuj Poddar and minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Saikia wrote a letter to Sonowal asking him to take cognizance of the news item and institute an inquiry into the matter.
The letter states that the reports which appeared in audio visual media pertaining to links which the senior cabinet minister has with a self proclaimed power broker Anuj Poddar which came to light after income tax officials raided his house on May 27.
The raid had led to unearthing of documents of the Assam government such as notes and quotations of tender documents of a few departments of the government and details of interaction between Sarma and Poddar.
The raid of the brokers residence also revealed sensitive documents pertaining to the Defence and External Affairs ministries and also suspicious documents of a couple of other states of India.
Saikia said that the Income Tax department had already sent a report about the link between Poddar and the said Cabinet Minister to the state and that such prima face indictment of a senior cabinet minister was a matter of great consternation for the people of Assam.
Saikia further said that this made a mockery of the chief minister’s office as Sonowal had promised a clean government with zero tolerance towards corruption to the people during elections and thereafter.
“Since the controversy involves a senior most member of your Cabinet, you are now faced with the litmus test of backing up your words by taking appropriate action against a stalwart of your own party,” Saikia wrote in his letter to the chief minister.
Saikia in his letter said Sonowal should under his personal supervision institute an inquiry into Poddar’s links with the minister in question.
“I also deem it proper to call on you to lose no time in issuing a public statement clarifying your stand regarding this undeniable blot on the government headed by you and the action you will take to uphold the sanctity of probity in public life, ” the letter further said.
