New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) K.C. Venugopal, General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and a Member of Parliament, on Friday accused Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, of engaging in ‘clear witch-hunting’ against Congress leader Pawan Khera after making false allegations against another Congress leader, Gaurav Gogoi and his wife.
Speaking to reporters, Venugopal said, “This is a witch-hunt by Himanta Biswa Sarma. He has made clear-cut false allegations against Gaurav Gogoi and his wife. How many times has he made such baseless claims? If there was any truth to these allegations before the elections why didn’t he present any proof?”
He further criticised the Assam Chief Minister for what he described as contradictory statements.
“The person who made false allegations against Gaurav Gogoi and his family is now accusing Pawan Khera of mischief. This is nothing but a clear case of witch-hunting,” he added.
Venugopal also expressed confidence about the Congress party’s prospects in Kerala.
“We are going to win in Kerala. We will form the government in the state,” he asserted.
On April 7, Assam Police registered a case against Pawan Khera, including charges of forgery, defamation, and criminal conspiracy, linked to remarks targeting the family of Sarma and his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.
Earlier in the day, Telangana High Court granted interim relief to Pawan Khera in the case registered against him by Assam Police.
The High Court granted anticipatory bail to Khera for one week to enable him to file an application for regular bail before the concerned court.
Justice K. Sujana, who had reserved orders on Khera’s petition on Thursday, pronounced the same on Friday.
Khera had approached the High Court for transit anticipatory bail to enable him to approach courts in Assam.
Appearing for Khera, Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that the FIR registered by Assam Police was a result of political vendetta.
Singhvi stated that the FIR had been loaded with every possible charge to exert pressure on a political opponent. He argued that even if the Congress leader’s statements turned out to be wrong, the case was one of defamation, and there was no reason to arrest him.
“Khera is not absconding. He is ready to cooperate. He came to this court only because he was in Hyderabad with his wife when he learnt about the FIR,” Singhvi said.
Appearing for Assam Police, Advocate General of Assam, Devajit Saikia, challenged the maintainability of the anticipatory bail petition in Hyderabad. He submitted that Khera, a resident of Delhi, has not shown any reason why he cannot file the petition in Assam.
Assam Police have booked Khera in a case of alleged defamation, forgery and criminal conspiracy.
The case was registered against him after he claimed that Riniki Bhuyan holds multiple foreign passports and undisclosed assets abroad.
A team of Assam Police on Tuesday visited Khera’s residence in Delhi, but he was not present there.
Police also put up barricades and placed security outside the residence of Khera and his wife, Neelima’s house in Hyderabad.
The controversy began after Khera’s press conference on Sunday, in which he claimed that Riniki Sarma held three passports, undeclared luxury properties in Dubai and also shell companies in the US.
–IANS
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