Pawan Khera accuses Himanta of dodging corruption charges, says CM “hiding behind Pakistan”

The Congress on January 30 mounted a sharp attack on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his recent remarks, accusing him of deflecting attention from alleged corruption and land-related issues by repeatedly invoking Pakistan.

Reacting to the Chief Minister’s statement, Congress communications department head Pawan Khera said Sarma has been “singing the same tune for the past year” because he has no answers to serious allegations against his government. Khera alleged that around 1.5 lakh acres of land belonging to local Assamese tribal communities and “sons of the soil” have been handed over to corporate interests close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“He doesn’t have answers to his own corruption. The land of local Assamese tribals has been given away, and there is no accountability,” Khera said, adding that key social groups in the state are increasingly dissatisfied. 

According to him, tea garden workers and tribal communities are seeking explanations from the government over land rights, livelihoods and welfare, but are not being addressed.

Khera claimed that instead of responding to these concerns, the Chief Minister is resorting to polarising rhetoric and externalising blame. “That is why he is hiding behind Pakistan,” the Congress leader said, suggesting that repeated references to national security issues are being used to divert public attention from governance failures within Assam.

On Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in Dibrugarh, Congress leader Pawan Khera says, "What happened to the promise of MSP (Minimum Support Price) for the tea gardens? What happened to the six tribes you were supposed to give tribal status to? Narendra Modi said it would be done in six months. Amit Shah said it would be done in five years. 12 years have passed, and those tribes are still waiting. What happened to that? It's the Home Minister's job to answer, but he won't give any answers."

The Congress has consistently targeted the BJP-led Assam government over land policies, alleging that indigenous and tribal interests are being compromised. The party has also accused the state government of neglecting tea garden workers, a politically significant group in Upper Assam.

The BJP, however, has rejected Congress allegations in the past, asserting that land allotments and development projects are being carried out transparently and in the interest of economic growth.