Assam CM Tarun Gogoi flays election panel raid as motivated

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Thursday condemned the `raid` by election expenditure observers at the private residence of Agriculture Minister Rockybul Hussain.

"It is politically motivated. It exposes the central government`s attitude towards the opposition," Gogoi told media persons here. 

"It also exposes the Centre`s policy to defame the opposition. The raid was conducted before the assembly polls. They did not find anything from his house. It is politically motivated to defame the Congress," said Gogoi.

Elections to the 126-member Assam assembly will be held on April 4 and 11.

A team of election expenditure observers raided Hussain`s residence at Panjabari area in Guwahati for over five hours on March 16.

Hussain has lodged an FIR at the Dispur police station here, saying the raid was aimed at defaming him ahead of the polls.

Meanwhile, Gogoi also attacked Bharatiya Janata Party`s chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal and dared him to make public how much money he had given for the development of Majuli from his Member of Parliament`s Local Area Development Fund.

Sonowal filed his nomination papers on Wednesday from Majuli (reserve - ST) constituency in Jorhat district.