He's crazy person: Himanta on Rahul alleging Assam CM misused state power to harass opponents
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma threw a "crazy person" barb at Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday after the Congress leader accused him of "abusing state power to harass his political opponents and critics".
Sarma, who arrived at the airport here before proceeding to Puri to pray at the Jagannath Temple, challenged Gandhi to make his passport details public and reveal which countries the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha had visited.
His scathing remarks came after Gandhi termed Sarma "most corrupt in the country" and said the Congress stood with Pawan Khera, who has alleged that the Assam CM's wife has multiple passports and offshore properties, which were not declared in the chief minister's election affidavit.
The Sarmas have rejected the allegations as false.
In a post on X, Gandhi alleged, "The present CM of Assam is the most corrupt in the country. He will not escape the law. His abuse of state power to harass his political opponents and critics is against the Constitution."
"The questions that are being raised have to be probed. Transparency, accountability of power and the rule of law are the basis of our Constitutional values. The Congress stands with Pawan Khera. We will not be intimidated," he has said.
Responding to reporters' questions over Gandhi's remarks, Sarma said, "Let me make it very clear, neither I nor any member of my family has a golden visa, as alleged. Rahul Gandhi is a crazy person."
"I challenge Rahu Gandhi to present his passport in front of the media, and I will bring mine and those of my family members. Let the media know who is visiting which country," Sarma said.
The Assam chief minister also said that Rahul Gandhi "is not God". "If I make allegations against him, will he be ready for a probe into those? He should know that others, too, have the right to ask him questions."
Asked about the Supreme Court staying the Telangana High Court's order granting Kehra one-week transit anticipatory bail in the case registered for levelling allegations against Sarma's wife, the BJP leader said he was not aware of it.
"However, according to me, the Telangana High Court cannot grant transit bail to Khera as he is not a resident of that state. The law will take its own course," Sarma said.
The senior BJP leader said he would join his party's election campaign in West Bengal from Thursday.
Later, in a post on X, he said, "On Assamese New Year, offered my prayers to Mahaprabhu Jagannath for Assam's continued peace and progress." Along with the post, he also shared a video of his visit to the temple.
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Madras HC seeks I-T report in Udhayanidhi Stalin poll affidavit 'discrepancies' case
Chennai (PTI): The Madras High Court on Wednesday sought a report from the Income Tax Department on the alleged discrepancies in the poll affidavits filed by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin seeking re-election from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni assembly constituency in Chennai.
A division bench of Chief Justice S A Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan sought a status report from the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, while hearing a plea from R Kumaravel of Chennai, seeking a probe into the assets declared by Udhayanidhi as a candidate in his election affidavit.
The bench posted the case to April 20 for further hearing.
The petitioner from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency, had alleged that there were discrepancies between the property details mentioned in the affidavit accompanying the nomination paper filed by the deputy chief minister in 2026 and the property details filed and the particulars mentioned in the affidavit for the 2021 polls.
A comparative analysis showed the "disappearance" of over Rs 7 crore in investments, Kumaravel claimed and sought a direction to the Election Commission of India and the returning officer for the constituency to verify the financial disclosures, sources of income, transactions and statutory filings made by Udhayanidhi.
Elections to the 234 Assembly constituencies spread across Tamil Nadu will be held on April 23.
