GUWAHATI: The much-vaunted `zero tolerance stand against corruption’ of the 16-month-old BJP-led government in Assam headed by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has been put under question mark by a BJP MP who has alleged that commissioner raj has crept into the functioning of most of the ministries in Assam prompting Sonowal to demand for documentary proof of the allegation.
The BJP MP from Tezpur Lok Sabha constituency, Ram Prasad Sharma has alleged while talking to a local TV channel here that state irrigation and handloom minister Ranjit Dutta was ‘into the habit of taking 10 per cent commission’ for awarding all contracts in his departments.
Allegation made by the BJP MP, who is also a prominent lawyer, has prompted the chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal to ask the MP to present documentary proof to support his allegation against the minister and pledge to take strong action if convincing proof could be made available to him
While taking to a local TV channel MP Sharma alleged while several ministers in Assam government were taking commissions, he was sure of irrigation and handloom minister Dutta. “One of my boys too recently got a contract by paying 10 per cent commission to the minister. There are a few other ministers too who take commissions. Our chief minister, who is known for his honest and upright qualities, must inquire into this practice. We came to power by promising a corruption-free government,” Sharma was heard saying in the channel.
Meanwhile, minister Dutta denied the allegations before the media here and said that he had already lodged complaint with the BJP leadership against the MP for making the baseless allegation that would tarnish image of the party. “I am sure the party will initiate appropriate steps against Sharma,” he added.
“Our government has been maintaining a zero-tolerance stand against corruption from the beginning and that is why as many as 56 government officers and employees are currently in jail,” Sonowal said in Dibrugarh on Tuesday.
It may be mentioned that in March this year, the Anti-Corruption and Vigilance wing of the Assam Police had arrested Kujendra Doley, secretary in the irrigation department headed by Minister Ranjit Dutta, after catching him red-handed while accepting a bribe in his office chamber. The police had also recovered Rs 45 lakh in cash from various drawers of his office chamber. The officer later alleged that he was collecting commission on behalf of the minister who rubbished it.
The opposition Congress on Wednesday demanded that the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal should prove his sincerity about the trumpeted stand against corruption by facilitating a thorough inquiry into allegation of corruption levelled against his ministers by the BJP MP, Ram Prasad Sharma. The Congress spokesman Druga Das Boor pointed out that earlier to a BJP MLA, Atal Bora had alleged that bribes had to be paid to Deputy Commissioners for release of MLA area development fund.