CPI(M) calls statewide protest on July 4 over Garukhuti Project scam

State unit secretary Suprakash Talukdar accused the state government of financial irregularities & demanded a time-bound judicial inquiry by a sitting or retired judge.;

Update: 2025-07-03 07:33 GMT
CPI(M) calls statewide protest on July 4 over Garukhuti Project scam

A file image of CPI-M Press meet. 

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Guwahati, July 3: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has announced a Statewide protest on July 4 over the alleged scam in the procurement and distribution of Gir cows under the much-publicised Garukhuti Multipurpose Agricultural Project in Assam.

Addressing a press conference at the CPI(M) State office on Wednesday, State unit secretary Suprakash Talukdar accused the State government of financial irregularities and demanded a time-bound judicial inquiry by a sitting or retired judge.

Central committee member Isfaqur Rahman, and State secretariat members Nayan Bhuyan and Nirangkush Nath were present at the press meet. The leaders presented a timeline of conflicting figures and data from various RTI replies, official statements, Assembly proceedings, and media reports, exposing what they termed as “information chaos” around the number of Gir cows brought into the State, their distribution, and deaths.

According to the CPI(M), the MoU to bring Gir cows to Assam was signed on January 7, 2022, in the presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister Parshottam Rupala. While the plan was to import 15,000 Gir cows – of which 5,000 were initially meant for the Garukhuti project – RTI documents reveal inconsistencies. One reply states that 98 cows were brought in November 2021; another claims 24 cows and a bull were brought in January 2022.

Minister Atul Bora had told the Assembly in March 2023 that 122 Gir cows were purchased in November-December 2021, and due to births, the total rose to 176. Yet, records from February 2024 suggest 300 cows were bought from NDDB, of which 210 were brought to the project in April 2023. CPI(M) claims 90 cows were distributed to farmers through elected representatives, and 56 of them later died.

Further discrepancies were highlighted from the Governor’s 2022 budget address and multiple media reports, which had mentioned 108 cows as of November 2021. Project officer Yugabrata Nath is reported to have recently stated that the project currently houses 210 Gir cows, including 130 calves.

In addition to seeking a judicial probe into the Gir cow row, CPI(M) also demanded the removal of Cabinet Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah and a judicial inquiry into the alleged disproportionate rise in the income of his wife’s farm – from Rs 1.19 lakh in 2020 to Rs 77 lakh. The party suspects the farm is being used for laundering black money, potentially linked to the Jal Jeevan Mission funds.

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