From Our Correspondent
AGARTALA: CPI (M)’s senior minority leader Shahid Chowdhury was sworn in as cabinet minister in a simple ceremony at Raj Bhawan here on Saturday amidst boycott of opposition Congress legislators.
Governor DY Patil administered oath of office and secrecy to Chowdhury in presence of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and his cabinet colleagues.
Chowdhury has been given charge of Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs and Minority Welfare, said Chief Minister soon after the completion of swear-in-ceremony.
On the opposition’s allegation of Chowdhury’s link with HUJI activist Mamun Miha, Chief Minister preferred not speak on the issue. As expected Congress boycotted the swearing ceremony as a mark of protest in inducting Chowdhury as member of state cabinet.
When contacted, opposition leader Ratan Lal Nath termed the induction of Sahid Chowdhury in the cabinet as black day for democracy.
“It was the Chief Minister who had inducted Chowdhury in his cabinet but history will not mercy him in future”, he said. Chowdhury had been appointed as Minister for Food, Civil Supply, Youth Affairs and Minority Welfare after the Left Front had returned to power in March 2008. But within a month his alleged link with Mamun Miah, a resident of Bangladesh, had been arrested by a team of officers from West Bengal CID for his involvement in a gun-running case in Hawrah area near Calcutta.
Mamun had been living as a tenant with the fake name of Suman Mazumder in a rented house in Ramnagar area in the heart of Agartala.
Mamun Mia finally returned to Calcutta in connection with cases against him and in the trial court he was sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment with Shahid Chowdhury acting as a witness. Chowdhury had resigned on ‘moral ground’ and there was no registered complaint against him.
After Mamun Mia had lost his appeal against the trial court’s judgement in Agartala bench of Guwahati high court the decision to induct him was finalised by the CPI (M) leadership.