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Jairam Ramesh, Himanta spar over Congress leader’s arrest; Assam CM says ‘insult directed at Dalit woman’
Reetam Singh was reportedly arrested on Saturday by Lakhimpur police from his residence in Guwahati based on a complaint about a social media post.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma traded barbs on social media after the arrest of Assam Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh in Guwahati.
Ramesh called the arrest “worse than atrocious,” while Sarma defended the move, citing legal grounds.
“The arrest of my young colleague Reetam Singh (@SinghReetam) for a perfectly reasonable social media post is worse than atrocious Mr. Chief Minister @himantabiswa,” Ramesh wrote in his post on X.
Sarma hit back at Ramesh, accusing Ramesh and the Congress of justifying offensive remarks against a Dalit woman's husband. He also warned of an impending “big revelation” linking a senior Congress leader, Gaurav Gogoi, to ISI and Pakistan. The Assam CM also put a timeline on the supposed revelation.
“Sir, this case pertains to a caste-based insult directed at a Dalit woman. If you justify calling the husband of a Dalit woman a rapist as a ‘perfectly reasonable’ social media post, it speaks volumes about the direction in which you people have taken the Congress party. But, just wait--the big revelation is yet to come- The nexus of your senior leader with ISI and Pakistan will be exposed by September,” Sarma replied.
Jairam Ramesh responded to Sarma’s post, calling the Bharatiya Janata Party leader an "outgoing CM" and accusing him of using the police for political vendetta.
"Mr Outgoing CM, stop diverting from the real issue - which is the abuse and misuse of police powers by you personally to favour your associates and fix your opponents," he wrote.
Why did Assam police arrest Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh?
Reetam Singh was reportedly arrested on Saturday by Lakhimpur police from his residence in Guwahati based on a complaint about a social media post, where he enquired about the status of cases against three senior BJP leaders, including two serving MLAs.
"These culprits got punishment they deserved But what @BJP4Assam r@pe accused Ministers and MLAs like Manab Deka, Ex Party President Bhabesh Kalita, ex Minister Rajen Gohain? Is law equal for all?" Singh had posted on X on March 13.
The arrest was made based on a complaint filed by BJP MLA Manab Deka’s wife. As police arrived at Singh's residence, he accused them of not following due procedure in a series of tweets, claiming they did not produce an arrest warrant.
“A team of @lakhimpurpolice of @assampolice is here to apprehend me without warrant and notice. I showed them the recent Gauhati High Court Judgement making it compulsory for police to give Notice. @HardiSpeaks @DGPAssamPolice any arrest of mine without Warrant and Notice will be contempt of Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita Judgement,” Singh posted on X.
In another tweet, he further alleged that police officials were “threatening force and entry” into his residence and that he refused to go with them without proper legal documentation.
“The@assampoliceare threatening force and entry. When I have repeatedly stated that I want to see the Notice or Search Warrant under BNS,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Lakhimpur District Youth Congress protested in front of the Lakhimpur Sadar Police Station on Saturday in Guwahati against Reetam Singh's arrest.
