Congress Accuses Assam CM of Poll Code Breach in Silchar

Guwahati: Congress leaders are crying foul in Silchar. The party claims Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma violated the Model Code of Conduct on September 24. This happened after Sarma announced a 100-crore development package for the city. The code is active across the Silchar Municipal Corporation because of the October 3 election.

Prithviraj Sathe, secretary of the All India Congress Committee, blasted the move during a campaign stop for Ward 40 candidate Hakim Uddin Laskar. He spoke on Thursday alongside former MLA Khalil Uddin Majumdar, Abhijit Pal, and Nazia Yasmin Majumdar. Sathe wants officials to investigate the timing of the announcement.

The criticism did not stop there. Sathe hammered the Election Commission over voter roll revisions, claiming officials deleted too many names. He cited concerns raised by Rahul Gandhi regarding national electoral processes. He also pushed for solutions to fix the gridlock clogging Silchar streets.

Abhijit Pal went further. He alleged that a syndicate runs the municipal body under BJP rule. He claims this shadow operation acts under the direction of a local legislator. The party aims to topple this grip at the ballot box. Voters head to the polls on October 3. The commission counts the ballots on October 6. The race spans all 42 wards. Sathe challenged the timing of the cash pledge. He asked, "whether the announcement amounted to a violation of the election code and called for scrutiny of the circumstances under which the package was announced."