Sarma met MLA who levelled horse-trading charges against him: Assam minister

Pijush Hazarika said Sarma also took the Jharkhand lawmaker for a meeting with Union minister Prahlad Joshi in Delhi on July 26

Published on: Aug 2, 2022, 12:32:03 IST

By Utpal Parashar

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Assam minister Pijush Hazarika on Tuesday rejected Congress lawmaker Kumar Jaimangal’s allegations that he was lured him to meet chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as part of attempts to topple Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren-led government. He maintained that Jaimangal regularly met Sarma, who also took the Jharkhand lawmaker for a meeting with Union minister Prahlad Joshi in Delhi on July 26.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. (ANI)

Jaimangal on Sunday filed a case in Ranchi against suspended Jharkhand Congress legislators Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kacchap, and Naman Bixal Kongadi after they were arrested in West Bengal’s Howrah with ₹49 lakh cash. He claimed the three called him to Kolkata to take him to Guwahati for a meeting with Sarma for engineering a defection for toppling Soren’s government.

In his police complaint, Jaimangal claimed the three offered him ₹10 core, a ministerial berth and that Sarma has the “blessings” of top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Delhi to topple Soren’s government.

Hazarika, a close aide to Sarma, shared photos in a series of tweets and said five days before Jaimangal filed the case, Sarma took the lawmaker to the Delhi residence of Union coal minister Joshi on July 26 to discuss some trade union matter. He added Jaimangal sought Sarma’s help to meet Joshi.

“Jaimangal...has been regularly meeting Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Sir. He should face the law for making a fraudulent allegation against Hon’ble CM of Assam and against those tribal MLAs [members of the legislative assembly],” Hazarika tweeted.

Sarma, who joined the BJP in 2015, on Sunday dismissed Jaimangal’s allegations and claimed even top Congress leaders have stayed in touch with him. “...when I have spent 22 years in that party [Congress], there will be contacts ...just because of that someone [Jaimangal] will lodge an FIR [First Information Report]... I do not know what has happened to Congress,” Sarma said on Sunday.

Jaimangal said he met Joshi in connection with the registration of a trade union with the coal ministry. “Sarma took me to Joshi’s residence in Delhi...I informed my party in charge Avinash Pande and Soren. If they make any other charge, I will respond accordingly,” he said. He added he stands by his charges made in the FIR. “You cannot expose such a huge cash haul without meeting a few people.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Utpal Parashar
A seasoned senior journalist, I have nearly three decades of experience across print, digital, and online platforms, covering political transitions, insurgencies, environmental issues, and development stories in India and Nepal. I am skilled in breaking news, leading editorial teams and launch of newspaper editions. I am adept at leveraging digital trends and social media to expand global reach, with a strong ethical foundation and a reputation for impactful journalism. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, I joined Hindustan Times in New Delhi as a trainee reporter in May 1997. Over the years, I have been posted in Dehradun, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Guwahati. Currently, as Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, I lead a team reporting on India’s northeastern states. My work involves in-depth analysis, and engaging multimedia storytelling across formats, including text, photo, video, and interactive content. I am skilled in producing timely, shareable content, leveraging digital platforms and social media to engage global audiences. Throughout my career with the Hindustan Times, I have led diverse editorial teams, designed capacity-building activities, and supported reporters in developing strong story ideas, ethical reporting practices, digital skills, and fact-checking techniques. As Senior Assistant Editor for Northeast India, I have been responsible for guiding correspondents through complex political, humanitarian, and community-level stories using multimedia formats. Earlier, as Foreign Correspondent in Nepal, I produced extensive reporting during Nepal’s democratic transition and the 2015 earthquake and its aftermath.Read More

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