GUWAHATI, SEP 15: Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi has once again accused Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, along with the CM’s office and the district and police administrative machinery of Tinsukia of being in hand in glove with the illegal coal trade he claims continues to flourish in Tinsukia district.
A couple of months after making a vitriolic attack on the Assam Chief Minister, accusing him of being aware of the illegal coal trade, the Nagaon Lok Sabha MP claimed the illegal trade continues to flourish with district and the police collecting money from coal-laden trucks regularly.
“The illegal coal trade continued to flourish. It had stopped after I raised the issue in Parliament but has now resumed. The district administration is aware and so is the SP of Tinsukia. And Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal also knows about it since such businesses could not continue without the chief minister’s blessings,” Bordoloi accused at Ledo.
“Rs 35,000 to 40,000 is collected from every truck. How can such a trade continue if the chief minister is not involved? He visits Tinsukia twice every month. That’s a clear example of his involvement,” he added.
The BJP, meanwhile, has hit back at the Nagaon MP saying people know who was actually involved in the illegal coal trade. Accusing Pradyut Bordoloi of being the kingpin of the trade, the ruling party said Bordoloi is dragging the Chief Minister’s name since the present government has launched a crackdown on corruption.
“Everybody knows who the kingpin of the illegal coal trade was? He is attacking the chief minister to put pressure on the government following the crackdown on corruption and syndicates the government has launched,” BJP spokesperson Rupam Goswami said.
