Guwahati, April 8 Congress leader Pawan Khera accused Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of "harassing" him instead of addressing the opposition party's questions regarding multiple passports and foreign investments linked to the CM's wife.
He also criticized the chief minister for using "derogatory" language against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, stating that it was not reflective of the state's rich culture.
Khera, who has filed a petition in the Telangana High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a case filed against him by the Assam government over his allegations against Sarma's wife, revealed his residential address in Hyderabad and requested bail in the event of arrest. The petition, filed on April 7, will be heard by the court on April 9.
In a video address to the CM, Khera said, "Our party has only asked you some questions. Why are you trying to silence us? We have asked the questions; now please provide the answers."
He added, "Instead of answering, you are making abusive remarks, and you have put police behind me. I am not afraid, but I need to ask these questions."
Khera reiterated his questions regarding a purported company registered in the US state of Wyoming in the name of Sarma's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, claiming that the official company website lists a London address as the primary address, along with two other addresses in Dubai and Dhaka.
The company, Bhuyan Properties LLC, has Bhuyan Sarma as the ‘Manager, authorised member’, with nationality of Antigua and Barbuda, along with mentioning of "multiple" other nationalities.
Khera alleged that the London address of this company is also linked to a 'Bhuyan Properties Ltd', as available in UK government records.
He also claimed that the chief minister’s wife has another company registered in Utah.
Referring to his previous charge of Bhuyan Sarma possessing passports of Egypt and Antigua and Barbuda, and the UAE's golden visa, Khera asked, "Did you, your agent, or a member of your family use fake KYC documents to open these shell companies and buy properties?"
"This can only be determined through an investigation. You are in government, and you should investigate these instead of trying to intimidate us," Khera added.
The Congress leader also criticized Sarma for his comments against Kharge, with the CM claiming that the opposition party’s national president was "speaking irrationally" due to his age when Kharge had placed the responsibility of investigating his wife's alleged involvement on central agencies.
"Our Congress president has more political experience than you (Sarma's), but your derogatory comments against him yesterday are unacceptable. Such remarks are against the rich culture of the state," Khera said.
Referring to the CM’s brother, who is a senior state police officer, Khera said, "We have learned that this brother and his wife and son stay in Dubai. The son studies in an international school that costs Rs 21 lakh annually. He also attends a cricket academy there."
"We don’t want to target children in politics, but we need to know the truth. You should just answer our questions," he said.
"You are only focused on the elections, but we are concerned about the people and their hard-earned money. Elections come and go, but Sarma ji should think about this and clarify whether it is his responsibility to respond," the Congress leader said.
Regarding the Assam Police visiting his Delhi residence, Khera said, "A hundred policemen came to my small Delhi flat. I wasn’t there, and neither was my family."
He claimed that the police had seized a phone, which was a memento of his deceased younger sister who died during COVID, a laptop he doesn't use, and an iPad that he hadn't yet used.
"The police also took two pen drives, though we don't know if they brought them themselves. Whenever we go, or they think we have gone, they send the police," Khera claimed.
"You are in the habit of threatening people, and we are in the habit of not being intimidated because we are Congressmen and Rahul Gandhi’s ‘sipahi’ (soldier). We have made the information public on paper and websites. We hope that an investigation will be conducted," he added.
Khera had first raised the allegations regarding Bhuyan Sarma’s multiple passports and foreign properties on April 5, which have been dismissed by the CM and his wife as false. Bhuyan Sarma has also registered a police complaint, prompting an Assam Police team to visit Khera’s New Delhi residence on Tuesday for questioning, but he was not present.
The Congress leader's charges surfaced ahead of the Assam Assembly elections scheduled for Thursday.