Assam’s Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that he has filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against a Hindi news channel that accused him of being part of “Operation Dalal” controversy.
“I am outraged by a @abpnewstv news report linking me to a person whom I have never met or known in my life,” said Sarma. “[The] @abpnewstv news report has defamed me in public light. I have filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against ABP News before the civil judge, Sr division, Kamrup district, Guwahati.”
The news channel recently aired a report saying Sarma had close ties with Delhi-based Anuj Poddar who reportedly calls himself a “power broker”. It cited evidence that income tax officials had reportedly found during a raid at Poddar’s Defence Colony home for alleged tax evasion. The report claimed the officials had also found confidential papers on foreign affairs and defence at Poddar’s house.
The income tax officials sealed Poddar’s house after the raid on May 27. The department has reportedly sent the case to the National Investigation Agency.
After the report was aired, former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of the Congress dared Sarma to file a case against ABP News. “A high-level inquiry should be initiated against Himanta for his close proximity with a ‘shady person’ like Anuj Poddar,” said Gogoi. “If he has the guts, let him file a case against the news channel. When I had dragged his name into the Louis Berger and Saradha scam cases, then, Himanta had filed two cases against me. Now, I dare him to take on ABP News.”
Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader and right to information activist Akhil Gogoi said the allegations were serious. “Everyone in Assam knows that Sarma is a corrupt man,” he told Northeast Now. “He is the most corrupt person in Assam’s politics. Sarma is the main man behind mafiarisation of politics.”
Akhil Gogoi demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation. “We have been pointing out the corruptions by Sarma in details with proper proofs since long,” he said. “But the BJP has covered up his corrupt character by welcoming him in the party.”
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee Vice President Pradyut Bordoloi, however, was diplomatic. “I have received this news, however, I can’t say to what extent it is true,” he said. “But if the past of Sarma is observed then it can be said that his name had surfaced in cases like Luis Berger and Dima Hasao corruption cases. So, Sarma’s involvement in this case also cannot be ruled out.”
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