New Delhi, April 7 The BJP on Tuesday criticized the Congress for calling the Assam Police's action against Pawan Khera a "witch hunt," and said the opposition party leader must face consequences for leveling "false" allegations against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his wife.
An Assam Police team went to Khera's residence in Delhi to question him after Sarma's wife filed a complaint over his allegations that she possesses passports from three countries and that the Assam chief minister had concealed information about her properties.
"They have approached the police. The police are doing their job," senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters at the BJP headquarters while responding to queries on the issue.
Prasad said that Khera had made "blatantly false" allegations against the Assam chief minister and his wife, and that he was now "running away" when the police had initiated action in the case.
Slamming the police action, the Congress had called it a "witch hunt" and alleged that a "bully" was using state machinery to silence the opposition's voice.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that deploying a "full army of police officials" to arrest Khera for asking basic questions in the public interest proves that the Assam CM is "disturbed, desperate, and rattled".
However, Prasad said that Khera should face the consequences for making "false allegations" against the CM's wife, instead of running away.
“If you make false allegations that affect the credibility of any woman who is the wife of the chief minister, be prepared to face the consequences.
"They have approached the police. The police are doing their job… Why are you running away now when the police have initiated action? Face it," the BJP MP and former Union minister said.
Khera had on Sunday alleged that Sarma's wife possesses passports from three countries and that he had concealed information about her properties, but the BJP leader "categorically rejected" the claims as "malicious" and "fabricated" and vowed to take legal action "within 48 hours".
Speaking with reporters outside Khera's house in Delhi, Assam police DCP Debojit Nath said that Khera was not found at his residence. However, he said, a search was carried out and electronic devices were seized.
Some "incriminating material" was found but its details cannot be disclosed at this stage, he said, adding the case had been registered at the Crime Branch Police Station in Guwahati.
Targeting Sarma as the campaign peaks for the April 9 election in Assam, Khera showed, at a press conference on Sunday, purported documents to support the allegations and demanded that the Election Commission cancel his nomination for allegedly concealing information in his poll affidavit.
The Congress has also filed a complaint with the Election Commission on Monday, demanding the cancellation of Sarma's candidature, contending that he did not mention his wife's alleged offshore assets in the poll affidavit.
Terming the allegations as "malicious, fabricated and politically motivated", Sarma said that as Assam moves decisively towards a historic mandate, such desperate and baseless attacks only expose the Congress' sinking ground.
He alleged that "documents being circulated show multiple glaring inconsistencies, suggesting a crude and poorly executed attempt at digital manipulation".