Guwahati, March 28 Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar alleged here on Saturday that there is no other administration as corrupt as the one in Assam, claiming that the entire state ministry, as well as their family members, are involved in it.
He questioned the BJP on its earlier charges of corruption against incumbent Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, claiming that anyone who joins the saffron party is "completely cleansed".
Addressing a press conference, Shivakumar, a senior party observer for state elections here, said, "The type of administration being run in Assam, the corruption going on here, no other state in the country has at such a level. The entire ministry is involved. Some BJP leaders and even family members are involved in it."
Referring to BJP's 'booklet' with corruption charges against Sarma in 2015, during his tenure as a Congress minister, Shivakumar asked, "How did his old corruption charges go away and he became clean, became the poster boy of BJP? Amit Shah has to reply to it. Was he washed in the Ganga or Brahmaputra or some river and cleansed? All who join the BJP are washed and cleansed."
Sarma, a minister in three successive Congress governments in Assam since 2001, had defected to the BJP in August 2015, a month after the BJP had made the allegations.
The Congress leader claimed that the people of Assam want a change and will vote decisively in next month's elections.
He said that for the last 15 days, he had been meeting Assamese people living in Bengaluru to know their thoughts.
"If we told them that we want to post their thoughts on social media, they were afraid as it could lead to a threat to their lives," Shivakumar said, alleging Sarma of running a "Hitler-like" regime.
"It is the people's desire for a change here. Because they know that wherever Congress is in power, it means that people of every section is in power. Congress unites people, BJP divides them," he said.
He added that even the media is being threatened for being critical of the government.
Asked if Sarma's allegations of Pakistan links against state Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi will impact the party's poll prospects, Shivakumar said it will have no bearing.
"Gaurav Gogoi is a parliamentarian, state party president, son of an ex-CM. Sarma is afraid of losing to Gogoi's leadership and hence brought this false allegation. Not even a single person believed it," he added.
Shivakumar questioned the BJP "poaching" Congress leaders ahead of the state elections and said, "If the BJP is so capable of winning, if they have done such good work in 10 years, what is the necessity to pick our leaders?"
Mentioning of senior Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi joining the BJP, who was the chairman of the opposition party's manifesto committee for the coming polls and had prepared a 'charge sheet' against the regime last month, Shivakumar said the saffron party must come clean on the charges levied against it.
"Our charges against the government are massive. And these were prepared by the person (Bordoloi) who joined the BJP and is now their party candidate. The BJP must reply to these charges," he added.
Shivakumar maintained that Sarma achieved standing in political circles due to Congress, and "after joining the BJP, people in the saffron party now claim that the CM is a Congressman in the BJP", the Karnataka DyCM claimed.
"BJP leaders now want to leave the party and are in touch with us," he said, without naming anyone.
Mentioning his state where the Congress claimed of implementing its pre-poll guarantees immediately after assuming power, Shivakumar said, "We urge the people to repose faith in us as we will deliver what we promise."
Elections for the 126-member Assam Assembly will be held on April 9, and votes counted on May 4.
The Congress has been out of power in Assam since 2016.
