Jorhat, April 3: Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, while taking the BJP and AGP to task for spreading false propaganda against his government with charges of largescale corruption, today dared BJP leader L.K. Advani to prove his (Gogoi’s) involvement in corruption.

Addressing the media here this morning, Gogoi said he would quit politics if Advani could come up with any legal evidence to nail him in any scam or financial irregularity. Otherwise, the top BJP leader himself should leave politics.

He said of late the BJP leaders had been coming to the state in large numbers and had been spreading “totally false” information about his government being involved in scams.

Criticising the BJP for suddenly developing love for Assam, the chief minister said the BJP leaders, when in power at the Centre, did not even visit the state during times of distress like big floods. But now they were coming to mislead the people ahead of the polls.

He questioned why the BJP, which was now talking about the Rs 1,000-crore Dima Hasao scam, did not raise the issue during the budget session of Parliament despite its earlier claim of doing so at its national executive meeting held in Guwahati in January this year.

“It is my government that detected the scam in the hill district and handed nine cases to the CBI to carry out a thorough probe. The BJP, along with ASDC, was in power in the district council, headed by then chief executive member Mohit Hojai (now in jail for his alleged involvement in the scam) when the scam took place,” Gogoi said.

He charged the BJP with being silent about Karnataka where the BJP government was neck deep in corruption. “Why did not Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari, Advani mention the Karnataka scams?” Gogoi asked.

If the BJP and AGP were so sure of his government’s involvement in the scam, then why had they not lodged a PIL in a court? he questioned.

Gogoi added that the BJP had never criticised the AGP and its leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, despite the fact that a CBI probe had linked Mahanta’s name to the LoC scam.

Claiming that Congress would be voted back to power for the third time, Gogoi said the people had seen “real and visible” development in the past 10 years and would not let the days of AGP government haunt them again when salaries of government employees were not paid and roads, bridges and educational and health institutions were in a bad shape.

He said the response by the people on Saturday to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s campaign meetings despite bandh calls by Ulfa and Takam Mising Porin Kebang, a Mising student body, indicated the people’s faith in the Congress. He also chided the BJP and the AGP for not holding poll meetings yesterday.

Answering to a query regarding his government not extending the term of the state’s contractual teachers by another three months, Gogoi said he had asked the chief secretary to suspend education department officials responsible for the goof-up and initiate department action. The teachers were appointed across the state on an 11-month contract, but appointment was given for eight months only, resulting in teachers’ job term ending in March 31, 2011.

He said he had also asked the chief secretary to seek permission from the Election Commission to allow ordering extension of the term of the teachers.

AGP complaint

The AGP today lodged a complaint with the returning officer of Jorhat Assembly seat, R.C. Jain, against chief minister Tarun Gogoi for violating the model code of conduct.

Two lawyers also lodged an FIR at Jorhat police station for the same cause.

Niren Sarmah, agent of AGP’s Jorhat candidate Hitendra Nath Goswami, alleged that Gogoi’s act of holding a news conference at a hotel here today was a violation of the code, as campaigning for Upper Assam ended at 3pm on Saturday.

The complaint added that according to a directive issued by additional deputy commissioner B.C. Phukan, any form of campaigning, including print and TV advertisements and appeals, after 3pm of April 2 would amount to violation of the model code of conduct.

It urged the returning officer to take action against Gogoi, a candidate from the Titabar seat that goes to poll tomorrow, for the said violation and also to take steps to prevent publication and broadcast of the chief minister’s appeals during the news conference, as “any such appeal may directly or impliedly favour the Congress candidate”.

Jain said he had forwarded the complaint to the chief electoral officer, Assam.

The two Jorhat-based advocates, Rintu Goswami and Gautam Bora, also accused Gogoi of violating the code by holding the news conference, in an FIR lodged with Jorhat police.

Accusing the district administration of showing favour towards the chief minister for permitting the news conference just about 500 metres away from DC’s office, Goswami said Gogoi should be booked under the relevant provisions of the Representation of the People’s Act (RPA) 1951 and the Indian Penal Code.

Jorhat SP Sanjukta Parasor said violation of model code of conduct was not a cognisable offence and so had to be addressed to the district election officer or to the general observer. On violation of the RPA, she said the police were examining whether holding of the news conference could be termed as a public meeting or not.