Court bars Congress leaders from making 'defamatory statements' against Assam CM Sarma
A political controversy erupted in Assam after Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s family of unlawfully acquiring extensive tracts of land across the state.
A court in Guwahati has instructed Congress leaders, including Gaurav Gogoi, Bhupesh Baghel and Jitendra Singh from making "defamatory statements" against Assam Chief Minister HimantaBiswa Sarma. This came after Sarma filed a Rs 500 crore defamation case against the grand old party leaders.
Petitioner's counsel, Civil Judge of Senior Division No 1, Nayanjyoti Sarma, in an order issued on Wednesday, ordered the aforementioned Congress leaders and a prominent Assamese daily to not make, publish or circulate any defamatory content till their appearance in court.
The Congress leaders have been asked to be present for the next hearing on March 9.
Congress alleges land grab by Sarma’s family
A political controversy erupted in Assam after Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s family of unlawfully acquiring extensive tracts of land across the state. Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Gogoi alleged that the chief minister’s family had appropriated approximately 12,000 bighas in various parts of Assam.
Responding to the claims, Chief Minister Sarma categorically denied any wrongdoing and filed a defamation lawsuit against Gogoi and two other Congress leaders.
Gogoi, Sarma at loggerheads over the former’s alleged Pak links
Sarma and Gogoi are locked in a war of words, with Sarma alleging that the Jorhat MP has links to Pakistan. He stated that the case involves three individuals: Gogoi himself, his wife, who is a British citizen, and a Pakistani national identified as Ali Tauqeer Sheikh.
Sarma also announced a SIT probe against Gogoi, noting that the report would be forwarded to the Centre for further investigation due to the seriousness of the allegations.
In response, the Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha accused Sarma of raising the Pakistan-link issue to distract public attention from land-related allegations against him.