Assam Pradesh Congress President Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday alleged that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is trying to divert attention from singer Zubeen Garg’s death and is on a “mission” to save North East India Festival (NEIF) organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, an accused arrested in the case.
The CM hit back, asserting that cases will be filed against those making statements to instigate people over the singer’s death and the Congress leader’s name will feature on that list.
Garg died by drowning while swimming in the sea on September 19 in Singapore where he had gone to perform in the NEIF.
The people of Assam want justice for Garg but the chief minister does not want it, Gogoi claimed while talking to mediapersons here.
”The CM’s recent statements give an indication that instead of ensuring justice, he is more interested in protecting Mahanta,” he said.
The chief minister retaliated by saying that Zubeen Garg is an Assamese Indian, but ”what justice is Gogoi talking about when both his children are foreigners. How will he understand the mind of Indians?” Sarma also claimed that Gogoi had commented that if an artiste like Zubeen Garg had died in any other state, there would have been violence with shops and business establishments burnt.
”These are provocative statements and we will file an omnibus case against those who are making statements to instigate people and Gaurav Gogoi’s name will be there in it,” the CM said on the sidelines of a programme here.
Gogoi said that people want to know what led to the singer’s death in Singapore and they want to hear it from Mahanta and his manager Siddhartha Sharma, both of whom are now in the custody of the SIT, probing into the death.
”They do not want to know from the SIT about someone’s character or integrity; we want to know how his death happened,” the Deputy leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha said.
The SIT has not taken any step to go to Singapore and take the statements of the members of the Assamese community there who were with the singer during his last moments on the yacht, he alleged.
The Congress leader said people expect answers to whether the singer had taken his medicines, why he was allowed to go into the sea without a life jacket, whether he really wanted to go in the yacht trip or not, and there are many other doubts.
”The CM is alleging that others are doing politics (over Garg’s death), but it is he who is doing so to divert the attention to a different direction. He has a good relationship with Mahanta’s family for a long time and has started the “Mission Save Shyamkanu Mahanta,” Gogoi alleged.
Regarding the second postmortem examination report of the singer, the chief minister has made a ”misleading statement” that the government will not make it public but has no problem if anyone gets a certified copy from the court, he said.
”This statement was given to weaken the inquiry as questions will be raised on the investigations and this will help Mahanta,” Gogoi claimed.
The kind of statements being given by Sarma in connection with the singer’s death is ”not expected from a person holding the CM’s office and the chair has lost its gravity due to him,” Gogoi asserted.
”He will be forced to leave his chair before the next assembly polls if he continues with his mission to protect Mahanta,” the Jorhat MP said.
”The BJP’s central IT cell has started doing politics over the singer’s death, but it is indeed a matter of appreciation that many fans of the singer, who are also BJP supporters, have said that there should be no politics in his death. But they also want justice,” he claimed.
Gogoi claimed that many BJP supporters, who are ardent fans of the singer, have said that since Garg opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), they also do not accept the controversial law.
Responding to Gogoi’s allegations, the CM said that he has no right to criticise anyone when he is the only Indian in his four-member family, and ‘even after so much controversy regarding the British citizenship of his children, he has not applied for their Indian citizenship.
”He could have said that he wants to become the chief minister of Assam and he now wants his children to be Indians, but he has not done so,” Sarma said.
If Gogoi becomes the CM, then ”only one member of his family will be Indian and the rest British. Which officer will then go to his residence,” he asked.
