BHUBANESWAR: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday dared Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to make his foreign travel documents public.
“I am ready to put my passport and the passports of my family in the public domain. Will Rahul Gandhi do the same?” Sarma asked, hitting back at allegations raised by Congress leaders regarding his wife’s golden visas and foreign assets.
Talking to reporters after his arrival at the Bhubaneswar airport before proceeding to Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri to seek blessings of Lord Jagannath ahead of the announcement of the election results to Assam Assembly, Sarma said, “Rahul Gandhi is not God. If he asks questions, I have an equal right to ask what the public wants to know.”
He dismissed the Congress’ allegations as ‘baseless’, stating, his wife does not possess any golden visa. “Will Rahul Gandhi tell the country how many nations he has visited so far?” he asked. To a question on Rahul’s support to his party spokesperson Pawan Khera and the Congress’ demand for a probe into the issue, Sarma asked whether the same logic would apply if he made 10 allegations against him.
The Assam chief minister said he is ready to go to Delhi with all his and his families’ documents. “Let Rahul Gandhi accept this challenge and make his foreign travel documents public before the press.”
Sarma offered prayers to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra on the occasion of the Assamese New Year. “I was fortunate to receive the blessings of Mahaprabhu Jagannath today. I prayed for Assam’s continued peace and progress,” Sarma said after the darshan.