Hours after The Wire reported on Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma allegedly spending “crores” of public money to “charter flights for BJP activity and weddings”, Sarma’s office described the report as a “lazy hit job based on selective reading of a handful of tweets”.
In a lengthy post on X, the CM’s office complained that the report “reeks of a malicious attempt to spread disinformation and dishonest intention of the authors”.
This story by media outlet “The Wire” is mischievous, misleading and a lazy hit job based on selective reading of handful of tweets.
— Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) February 3, 2024
The facts are as follows
1. No expenditure of HCM Dr @himantabiswa election campaigns are borne by the State exchequer. All expenses, including… https://t.co/zb6ZdvSRtz
The story in question was based on RTI responses from Sarma’s own government. It was a collaborative effort between The Wire and The Cross Current, which published the story in Assamese.
The Guwahati-based news portal had filed RTI requests in August last year. According to the report, the responses from the general administration department “reveal that Sarma hired chartered planes with taxpayers’ money to attend a number of weddings, apart from party meetings”.
For example, it cited Sarma attending the wedding of the Nagaland CM’s daughter in November 2022. “The RTI reply showed that trip to Nagaland had cost the Assam exchequer Rs 14,08,562.”
Similarly, based on RTI data, The Wire and The Cross Current said Sarma “used an Assam government-funded chartered flight to fly to Lucknow” in January 2023 to attend the wedding of the UP deputy CM’s daughter. “That trip cost the state exchequer a whopping Rs 23,43,750.”
The report alleged Sarma used public money “to campaign for the BJP outside the state too, including in the Delhi municipal elections”. It said he “used state-funded chartered planes at least seven times to attend BJP meetings” between September 22, 2021 and January 24, 2023.
“No government is supposed to spend any public funds on non-official work. ‘Non-official work’ naturally includes party-related activities and attending private parties – neither of which can be paid for by public funds,” the report said, pointing out this violated the Election Commission’s model code of conduct.
But the CMO’s office insisted “no expenditure” on Sarma’s campaigns are borne by the state exchequer. It also said that when Sarma visits a district or neighbouring state for official engagements, “there could be social functions such as condolence meetings or weddings that coincide with the visit” – but “such coincidences are far and few”.
Importantly, the general administration department provided the information to The Cross Current only after the State Information Commission directed it to do so. Even so, The Wire noted that the information provided “has only been partial”.
This report was published with AI assistance.
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