GUWAHATI, March 13 (PTI): Top Congress leaders, including state president and MLAs, were arrested here on Monday during a protest by the Assam unit of the Opposition party against alleged fiscal scams which occurred during the Narendra Modi-government’s tenure through different financial bodies.
The arrests were made during a ‘Raj Bhawan Chalo’ programme by the party, led by its state chief Bhupen Kumar Borah.
“We were not allowed to take out our march towards the Raj Bhawan. Police prevented us from leaving the assembly site,” Congress MLA Jakir Hussain Sikdar, who was present at the protest site, told PTI.
“We were arrested and taken to Latasil Police Station. We were later allowed to leave on PR bond,” he added.
Several party leaders, including state working president Rana Goswami and MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed, had participated in the protest programme, for which Congress workers from nearby districts had also come.
Addressing the gathering, Borah said, “Our protest is to protect the savings of the people who have kept it in good faith in State Bank of India, LIC, etc., but the Modi-led government had forced these institutions to invest, this hard-earned money of the public, in companies run by his favourite Adani.
“Everyone is aware how our prime minister requests China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh to get work allotted to the Adanis,” Borah claimed.
He alleged that the Congress MPs were not being allowed to raise these issues in the Parliament by BJP, and this has forced the Opposition party to take to the streets.
“The government refuses to agree to a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the charges that LIC, SBI are being forced to invest in Adani-owned companies as it will expose their nexus. We are now forced to come out on the streets so that people can know the truth,” he said.
