Lashing out at the Congress for making “baseless” allegations against him, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that the FIR filed by the Congress MLA Kumar Jaimangal was akin to the Congress asking Ottavio Quattrocchi to file a case against Bofors. Taking to Twitter, Sarma on Tuesday shared photographs posted by Assam BJP MLA Pijush Hazarika in which Jaimangal is seen meeting Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi in his presence and made a series of tweets. Taking a jibe at the Congress party, Sarma said in one of his tweets, “Fake FIR in #Jharkhand. The so-called FIR looks like @INCIndia asking Ottavio Quattrocchi to file a case against Bofors.”
The Congress MLA from Jharkhand’s Bermo on Sunday 31 July had filed a police complaint against the three Congress MLAs arrested in Howrah carrying a cash of Rs. 50 lakh in their vehicle. The cash recovered from the Congress MLAs was alleged to be part of a conspiracy to topple the Hemant Soren-led JMM–Congress coalition government in Jharkhand, by luring other MLAs with an offer of Rs, 10 cr each and a ministerial berth if the BJP forms government in the state.
Naming Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kacchap and Naman Bixel Kongeri in his complaint, Jaimangal alleged that the three Congress MLAs called him to reach Kolkata and offered him Rs. 10 crore to help bring down the Jharkhand government. “…Irfan Ansari told me that he had been promised the health ministry in the new government… (The MLAs told me) that Sarma is doing this with the help of top shots of the BJP sitting in Delhi,” he further alleged in his complaint.
Jaimangal addressed the complaint to the Argora Police Station in Ranchi, following which a zero FIR was registered by the Jharkhand Police.
Hitting out at the Congress party, Sarma retweeted Pijush Hazarika post in which the BJP MLA said, “5 days before filing the fabricated FIR, Hon›ble CM Dr.@himantabiswa sir took him to the Residence of the Hon’ble Union Coal Minister Shri @JoshiPralhad ji at 9 am of 26th July, 2022 in order to help him in his trade union related matter.» Hazarika said that Jaimangal was making false allegations against Sarma and should «face the law”. “Mr. @KumarJaimangal has been regularly meeting HCM Dr.@himantabiswa sir. He should face the law for making a fraudulent allegation against Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam and against those tribal MLAs,” Hazarika had tweeted.