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Nagaon MP�s statements over coal mafia a publicity stunt, alleges BJP

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 26 - Dismissing allegations made by senior Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi regarding alleged prevalence of syndicates and coal mafia in the State, the ruling BJP today said that the newly elected Lok Sabha MP from Nagaon constituency is making statements against the State government and the Chief Minister just for the sake of publicity.

State BJP spokesperson Rupam Goswami said that the State government led by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had adopted a �zero tolerance� approach since the day of assuming office.

�Pradyut Bordoloi is making statements against the Chief Minister just for increasing his own popularity. The fact is that Bordoloi himself was involved in coal syndicate during his time as a minister in the previous Congress government. And that is the reason why, losing his base in his own constituency, he was forced to shift to Nagaon to contest the recent Lok Sabha polls,� said Goswami.

It is noteworthy that Bordoloi yesterday challenged the Sarbananda Sonowal administration to undertake a joint visit to the rain forests in Tinsukia district to verify the allegations of massive destruction of the greenery by the coal mafia in connivance with the district administration and forest department.

The Congress leader had claimed that he has in his possession all the evidence to prove his allegations, including satellite images, shots taken by drones, photographs and maps, to show that 20,000 hectares of forest area have been destroyed due to rat hole mining and massive deforestation.

Goswami said that the Sonowal government has taken a tough stand against corruption and many senior officials, including ACS and APS officers, have been put behind bars for their alleged involvement in scams.

�Under such circumstances, it is very unfortunate that Bordoloi is making baseless allegations against the Chief Minister... The BJP government has taken severe steps against syndicates since the day of assuming office,� he said, adding that a number of cases have been lodged and many persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in illegal coal trade since 2016.

He alleged that Bordoloi is trying to ingratiate himself with the Congress party�s high command and become the chief of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC).

Goswami alleged that when Bordoloi was minister in the previous Congress regime, the ministries under his charge witnessed lot of corruption and mismanagement.

�Things have improves since the BJP came to power in the State. As such, lacking any other issues, Bordoloi is resorting to such type to games,� added that ruling party�s spokesperson.

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