GUWAHATI: The Congress on Friday said its Assam chief Bhupen Kumar Borah had written to Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde requesting him to leave the state along with the MLAs he is leading at the earliest.
The Assam Congress said the letter, meant for Shinde, was sent through a policeman on duty at hotel Radisson Blu in Guwahati where the Maharashtra MLAs are holed up.
It was not immediately known if Shinde received Borah’s letter. Congress leader Bobbeeta Sharma told The New Indian Express, “It was sent to him (Shinde).”
Borah wrote in the letter, “You are aware that Assam is a land where people give a lot of respect to ethics and values. Your presence in Guwahati with MLAs of the ruling Shiv Sena, who have been kept in a hotel for alleged horse-trading to topple the elected government of Maharashtra and the continued media coverage of the same, has not gone well with the Assamese people and is creating an unhealthy atmosphere.”
He said at a time when Assam was fighting a devastating flood, Shinde’s presence in Guwahati and the “busy activities of Assam government in providing royal hospitality to you” was unfair and unacceptable.
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“Assam has been defamed by your presence considering Guwahati as a safe haven for MLAs who have no respect for constitutional values and loyalty at all,” Borah further wrote.
He said Assam has had some towering Chief Ministers but the incumbent Himanta Biswa Sarma proved himself to be nothing but a “wheeler dealer, encouraging and supporting political horse-trading in Assam.”
“The BJP CM and the government’s support to your presence here sullied the image of Assam and the Assamese. Sarma and the government machinery should be busy with the management of the flood crisis but your presence has been standing as a hindrance,” the letter read.
Rs 56 lakh for 70 rooms ==
Altogether 70 rooms were booked for seven days at the five-star hotel for the Maharashtra MLAs. According to reports, the tariff for seven days is Rs 56 lakh. The total cost, including food, was estimated to be Rs 1.12 crore.
The hotel has been kept out of bounds of people. Only selected people, including ruling BJP politicians, were allowed access. It is not entertaining any fresh bookings.