Opposition protests over the alleged irregularities in Assam’s Gir cow procurement and subsidy disbursals intensified on Thursday, with the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a CBI probe.
The regional party, born out of the anti-CAA movement, demanded a probe into the “misappropriation” of Gir cows under the Garukhuti project and the alleged involvement of a minister’s wife in receiving government subsidy meant for dairy sector development.
The CPM called for statewide protests and demanded a judicial inquiry. The Raijor Dal, another regional outfit, echoed the demand. The Congress, which first raised the issue, has already written to the Prime Minister and held demonstrations. Six persons were arrested after a bottle was hurled at the chief minister's convoy in Golaghat during a protest on Monday.
The Garukhuti project in Darrang, launched in 2021, was set up after the eviction of over 1,400 families, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims. Two people were killed during the drive.
AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi and general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan claimed 300 Gir cows were procured under a 2022 MoU with the National Dairy Development Board for the Garukhuti project. Of these, 90 reportedly went missing after arrival in Rangia, and 56 died. Twenty were allegedly diverted to a dairy farm linked to a cabinet minister’s wife.
The AJP said contradictory statements by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Garukhuti chairman Padma Hazarika — one saying the cows were sold to MLAs to save them, the other citing infrastructure limits — have only deepened public suspicion.
“Media reports and RTI replies suggest diversion of livestock meant for poor farmers into private hands,” the AJP wrote. It demanded a CBI probe and forensic audit of the project and all subsidy-related transactions.
The CPM, citing RTI data, confirmed 210 cows reached the project site, 90 were distributed by MLAs, and 56 died. It demanded the removal of tourism minister Jayanta Malla Baruah, whose wife’s farm is allegedly involved.