Remarks on BPF chief not a threat: Himanta Biswa Sarma to EC

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Assam Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has been barred by the Election Commission for campaigning in the ongoing assembly elections, has said that his remarks for Bodoland People’s Front chief Hagrama Mohilary were ‘not a threat’ to misuse the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The Congress complained on March 30 that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader ‘openly threatened’ to send Mohilary to jail by ‘misusing’ the NIA. On Friday, the EC barred Sarma from campaigning for the next 48 hours in the ongoing assembly elections.

In his reply to the EC — the letter of which he tweeted on Saturday — Sarma said his remarks meant that the investigation can be handed over to the NIA as the place of occurrence of crime falls near international as well as the inter-state border. He also justified the mention of Mahilary with relation to the case, saying that an ongoing investigation has proved the connection of Mahilary to the case.

“IGP Assam wrote to the government of Assam to consider the case for transfer to NIA at the earliest on the basis that the place of occurrence falls near international as well as inter-state border and there would be a need for investigation of the case beyond the state of Assam to unearth all the linkage of the case and also the matter pertains to security and the integrity of the nation and therefore it is of paramount importance to nab all the accused,” he said in his reply to the EC.