No Syndicate Under This Government: Chandra Mohan Patowary

GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was prompt enough to write a letter to the CBI for an inquiry into the allegations of syndicates being run in Assam. He also instructed the CID for an investigation into the allegation. All these, according to Parliamentary Affairs and Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, speak volumes of the Chief Minister’s zero tolerance to corruption and syndicate raj.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday in the presence of Chief Minister’s Legal Adviser Santanu Bharali and Media Adviser Hrishikesh Goswami, Patowary said: “Apart from writing a letter to the CBI, the Chief Minister also formed a State-level committee for daily monitoring of syndicate activities. However, a section is out to malign the image of the Chief Minister by leveling baseless allegations against him. As many as 400 cows were rescued this month while being smuggled out, besides arresting 55 people involved in it. In 2018 and 2019 as many as 300 coal-laden trucks were seized, leading to the arrest of around 100 people.”

Patowary dared Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi to respond to a barrage of questions he threw targeting him (Bordoloi). The Nagaon MP had alleged in Tinsukia on Sunday that “the Margherita coal syndicate is still going on, and it is being controlled right from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).”

Reacting sharply to the allegation, Patowary said: “This is a baseless and imaginary allegation. There’s no syndicate under this government. During the last Congress regime, then Margherita MLA Pradyut Bordoloi was Home, Forest and Industries Minister. Why didn’t he see coal syndicate in Margherita at that time? Syndicate raj is essentially a Congress culture. The present government in the State has no involvement in it. The first Cabinet decision of this government was to dismantle check-gates. And, 150 check-gates were dismantled on a single day. When Pradyut Bordoloi was the Power Minister, around 50,000 bamboo poles were used for electrification in the State. When the BJP-led coalition came to power, some of the bamboo poles collapsed, leading to a number of electrocutions. Who’s responsible for those deaths? During the Congress regime, the Social Welfare Department had around seven lakh ghost children. Our government had to cancel around 3.5 lakh ration cards given to financially well-off people, depriving the poor. The new government had to cancel around 4.5 lakh job cards given to rich people at the cost of the poor under the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act). Why didn’t Bordoloi see all those malpractices as a responsible minister? Let Borboloi respond to all these queries, if he has guts.”

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