Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal banks on anti-graft drive in his year

The one-year-old BJP government in Assam will be showcasing its crackdown on corruption as its prized achievement, which is perfectly in sync with the Modi sarkar’s anti-corruption agenda.

The domestic cleanup exercise, which began immediately after the government assumed power last May, started with the arrest of Dr Rakesh Paul, chairman, Assam Public Service Commission (APSC). The Assam police arrested three Circle officers –– Bhaskarjyoti Dutta Das, Amit Sarma and Bhaskarjyoti Dev Sarma ––for allegedly submitting duplicate answer scripts in the APSC.

Police have also arrested 11 persons in the jobs for-cash scandal involving the APSC. Reforms and weeding out of corruption from APSC became electoral issues in the assembly polls in Assam in 2016. This crackdown against corruption earned accolades from the party’s ideological mentor RSS. Infact, when Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal met RSS’ Mohan Bhagwat in Guwahati recently, the latter lauded the state’s efforts and asked Sonowal to continue the drive. The anti-corruption wing under the CM has been activated over the past one year.