Himanta Biswa Sarma refutes claims of misusing government funds for election campaigns

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has dismissed allegations of utilizing the state government's funds for election campaigns. 

The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) of Assam has issued a clarification. 

It has been confirmed that no expenses related to the election campaigns of Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, the 15th Chief Minister of Assam, have been borne by the state exchequer. 

The CMO's statement comes amidst allegations made by a national news media portal, suggesting that the Assam chief minister allegedly used state government funds amounting to crores of rupees to hire helicopters and chartered planes to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party, both within and outside the state.

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This story by media outlet “The Wire” is mischievous, misleading and a lazy hit job based on selective reading of handful of tweets.

The facts are as follows

1. No expenditure of HCM Dr @himantabiswa election campaigns are borne by the State exchequer. All expenses, including… https://t.co/zb6ZdvSRtz

— Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) February 3, 2024

The official CMO X handle states- "No expenditure of HCM Dr Himanta Biswa election campaigns are borne by the State exchequer. All expenses, including flights, are paid for by the political party via bank transfer/ cheque. Whenever HCM visits any district in the State or neighbouring States for official engagements there could be social functions such as condolence meetings or weddings that coincide with the visit. Compared to all the official visits undertaken by HCM since May 2021, such coincidences are far and few. It is appalling to see the authors of this story make sweeping conjectures based on incidental social programs which HCM has attended. Using a single tweet from a given day to assume it was the sole agenda of that very day reeks of a malicious attempt to spread disinformation and dishonest intention of the authors."

The CMO's clarification aims to dispel any misconceptions about the use of state resources for personal political campaigns, ensuring transparency and accountability in the administration led by Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma.