GUWAHATI, Dec 9: Opposition Congress in Assam has sought a clarification from chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in regard to allegations in a report of a national news web portal that a real estate firm co-founded by his family members was involved in “illegal acquisition of government land”.
Reacting to the media report, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Kumar Borah said, “At a time when Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is trying to set an example before the people on the issue of making government land encroachment- free, a national news web portal, ‘The Wire,’ has published a news item about the chief minister’s family members’ involvement in encroachment on government land by violating all rules, thereby leading to an unprecedented incident in the political history of Assam and causing consternation among the people in the state.”
Borah challenged the chief minister “to file a defamation case against the web portal if his family members were not involved in encroachment of government land or to seek public apology before the people if they are really involved in such encroachment.”
According to the media report, in 2007, RBS Realtors Private Limited, a real estate company co-founded by family members of Sarma, acquired 6.92 acres of land out of 18 acres of ceiling surplus land at Bongora near Guwahati airport within just four months.
‘Ceiling surplus land’ is meant for landless individuals and if such landless people decide to sell any land, they have to be in possession of such land for a minimum of 10 years.
“However, the family members of chief minister Sarma bought the land violating all rules related to possession and sale of such land. The land was bought within 2009, at a time when Sarma was a minister in the government,” it claimed.
“The second proprietor of RBS Realtors Pvt Ltd is Ranjit Bhattacharya, a close confidante of Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and president of the state BJP’s Kisan Morcha,” it stated.
The APCC president challenged the chief minister to clarify his stand on the entire incident, a statement issued here on Thursday by the party said.
On Wednesday, regional party Assam Jatiya Parishad had demanded a high-level inquiry into the alleged acquisition of government land by the real estate company.