New Delhi, 13 April (H.S.):
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has unequivocally rallied behind party media chairperson Pawan Khera amid an FIR triggered by his allegations against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife, Rinki Bhuiyan, vowing unyielding resolve in the face of political vendetta.
In a pointed post on X on Monday,Rahul Gandhi branded Sarma as India's most corrupt chief minister, accusing him of weaponizing official authority to harass political adversaries and critics—a blatant affront to constitutional ethos. He insisted that Khera's claims warrant impartial scrutiny, advocating transparency, governmental accountability, and rule of law as bedrock constitutional tenets.
Reiterating solidarity, Gandhi declared: We shall not cower. Congress stands resolutely with Pawan Khera.
The imbroglio ignited on April 5, 2026, during Khera's press briefing at Congress headquarters, where he alleged Rinki Bhuiyan held active passports from the United Arab Emirates, Antigua-Bermuda, and Egypt, alongside undisclosed multimillion-rupee assets in Wyoming (USA) and UAE—omitted from Election Commission disclosures. Sarma dismissed these as malicious fabrications, pledging legal recourse within 48 hours; consequently, an FIR ensued, prompting Assam Police's raid on Khera's Delhi residence on April 7. Absent at the time, Khera later saw police seize his mobile, iPad, laptop, and pen drives.
This standoff exemplifies intensifying pre-poll skirmishes, with Congress decrying state machinery misuse while BJP counters with defamation charges. Khera secured interim relief from Telangana High Court against coercive action, underscoring judicial checks on partisan overreach. Gandhi's intervention galvanizes party morale, framing the episode as a democratic litmus test amid Sarma's governance scrutiny.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
