Gauhati High Court gave me clean sheet on secret killings: Former CM Prafulla Kr Mahanta

Gauhati High Court gave me clean sheet on secret killings: Former CM Prafulla Kr Mahanta

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Thursday asserted that the Gauhati High Court had given him a clean sheet from the charges of secret killings.

Mahanta’s assertion came a day after Cabinet Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday accused the former of being involved in secret killings in the State, during a peace rally organized by the ruling BJP at Sarbhog in Barpeta. Mahanta has become a target of attack by the BJP as he has been opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

“The High Court had given me the clean sheet. My government then lodged protest against such killings before the Centre,” Mahanta said while addressing a press conference here on Thursday.

Reacting to Sarma’s claim that the BJP will win 100 out of 126 Assembly seats in the 2021 elections, Mahanta said the former’s statement has proved that the ruling party has brought the CAA only for its political mileage. He alleged that Sarma joined the Congress after he was expelled from the AASU. “Sarma deserted the Congress and joined the BJP only to save himself from charges of being involved in various scams,” he said.

Mahanta added that way back in 2014, the then BJP national vice-president SS Ahluwalia had warned Sarma that a change of government in Delhi could reopen investigation into cases which he had “swept under the carpet”. “Soon after Ahluwalia’s warning, Sarma joined the BJP,” he said, adding that the CBI was also investigating the Saradha scam at that time which later slowed down.

During the Wednesday’s peace rally, Sarma had said that the Citizenship Act was amended by the Centre to grant citizenship to children of illegal migrants when the AGP was in power in the State. Prafulla Mahanta, while responding to Sarma’s statement, stated that his government had raised objection against such amendment before the Central government.

Mahanta further said that detection of illegal foreigners during his government’s tenure became very difficult due to enforcement of the IM(DT) Act. “The AGP had only entrusted Sarbananda Sonowal since he was not holding any post of office bearer of the party, to fight the legal battle against the IM(DT) Act in the Supreme Court,” he said.

On the issue of his differences of opinion on CAA with the AGP leadership and the forthcoming 2021 Assembly elections, Mahanta said there is enough time left for the polls. He added that the trinamool workers and leaders of AGP will hold a meeting on the party’s stand on CAA on January 7.

“The danger of CAA is that the beneficiaries of the legislation will not have to produce any document to get citizenship,” Mahanta said.

Asked about floating an alternative political front, Mahanta who is the founder president of AGP, negated the necessity of such a front and said that such a move will only help the BJP.

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