GUWAHATI, Feb 10: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said he has initiated defamation proceedings seeking Rs 500 crore in damages against three senior Congress leaders, accusing them of making “false, malicious and defamatory” allegations against him during a media conference.
“Today, I have filed a defamation case seeking Rs 500 crore in damages against Congress leaders Jitendra Singh, Bhupesh Baghel and Gaurav Gogoi for making false, malicious and defamatory allegations against me through a press conference,” the chief minister said on his X (formerly Twitter) post.
The post had a reference to another tweet earlier this month when Sarma said he would initiate civil and criminal defamation proceedings against the three senior Congress leaders, along with another veteran leader, Debabrata Saikia, for making false, malicious and defamatory statements against the chief minister in a media conference on February 4.
“The era of hit-and-run politics is over. If they have even an ounce of courage or evidence, let them prove every allegation before a court of law,” Sarma asserted.
“I will not be intimidated by propaganda, coordinated slander or political theatrics of so-called slaves of Gandhi family,” he stated.
Notably, the defamation case has been filed a day after Congress MP and Assam PCC chief Gaurav Gogoi, while clarifying on the Pakistan-link allegations, reiterated his claim during a media conference on Monday, that almost 12,000 bighas of land were occupied by the Assam chief minister and his family members across the state.
Gogoi had claimed last week that an inquiry by the party had revealed the occupation of almost 12000 bighas of land by the chief minister and his family members.
