'Let him tell the people': Assam Congress protests alleged land accumulation by CM family

The Assam Congress staged coordinated protests across the state on February 10, accusing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his family of grabbing more than 3,900 acres of land.

District Congress committees held demonstrations at their respective headquarters, turning the spotlight on what the party called unexplained asset accumulation.

The protests were led by the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, which said the agitation would continue until the chief minister provides a public explanation. APCC Media and Communications Department chairman Bedabrata Bora said the party’s demand was straightforward. “Our demand is very simple. The CM must come clean about accumulating so much assets. He claims that it was collected through legal means. If so, then let him tell it to the people of Assam,” Bora said.

Bora questioned whether official authority was used to acquire land and pressed for a full disclosure. “Did he grab the land using official power? How much more property has the CM cornered in Assam? We need all the accounts of this unnatural wealth,” he said, adding that the protests would intensify in the coming days.

Earlier, on February 10, Sarma rejected the allegations as “malicious” and said he had filed a Rs 500-crore defamation case against Congress leaders.

The controversy follows claims made on February 4 by Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, who said a party investigation had produced “startling revelations”. Gogoi alleged that the chief minister and his family had “occupied almost 12,000 (over 3,960 acres) of land across Assam”.