Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has sent a show cause notice to Tea Tribes and Employment Minister Sanjay Kishan for apologizing to Paresh Baruah, chief of the banned insurgent group United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I).
Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) confirmed the matter and said that CM Sarma sought Kishan’s reply as to why he apologized to ULFA-I chief Barua.
Sanjay Kishan was attending the ‘Gunotsav’ program of the Education Department in Nagaon district on May 13 when media persons asked him about the recent activities of ULFA-I. In response, Kishan called Paresh Barua a ‘liar’.
The group committed the crime and sent an email to News18, threatening to boycott the minister from Tinsukia and Dibrugarh and demanding an apology within 24 hours.
Kishan had reportedly said that ULFA-I chief Paresh Barua was lying that Biju Gogoi, a cadre of the group, had committed suicide at his camp.
The minister publicly apologized in Tinsukia on May 15, after the rebel group gave him a 24-hour ultimatum to apologize for calling its chief a liar.
“Our Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is trying to create an atmosphere to bring ULFA (I) to the negotiating table to establish peace in Assam. And I don’t want the atmosphere to be bad. I have just spoken of some youths joining ULFA and if my remarks have hurt Paresh Barua’s sentiment in any way, then I apologize for it,” Kishan had said.
After the showcase notice issued by the Chief Minister, the opposition parties raised the demand for the removal of Minister Kishan from the ministry.
Speaking to News18, senior Congress MLA cum working president of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) said, “This is not acceptable from a cabinet minister who bowed before a banned insurgent group. The Chief Minister should remove him from the ministry and take strict action. This is a serious matter against the sovereignty of the country.”
Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mandal claimed that Minister Kishan has a good understanding with the banned rebel group ULFA-I. Demanding Kishan’s removal from the cabinet, Mandal said, “Criminal case should be registered against Sanjay Kishan.”
Another opposition party AIUDF also condemned the cabinet minister’s statements and appealed to the chief minister to take strict action against the said minister. AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam has demanded legal action against the minister.
Sanjay Kishan was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly election in 2016, representing the Tinsukia constituency. He became a minister of state in Sarbananda Sonowal’s ministry, and is currently a cabinet minister in Himanta Biswa Sarma’s ministry.
read all breaking news , today’s fresh news And IPL 2022 Live Updates Here.