Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that his government is not paying for the accommodation of renegade Maharashtra MLAs and their leader Eknath Shinde at the Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati.
Reacting to queries on who was paying for their stay in the five-star hotel in Guwahati in Assam, CM Sarma said, “Assam’s money is not being spent at Radisson Blu. An RTI will substantiate that.”
The Assam CM downplayed the situation by claiming that “the people of Maharashtra are not short of money that we have to pay for them.”
He said, “Why should we return the Maharashtra legislators to their home? Consider the staff members of the Radisson Blu hotel. What will transpire with them?”
CM Sarma criticised Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi for calling for the expulsion of the rebel MLAs, saying, “Akhil wants the lawmakers to be kicked out. He wants to remove young people from unemployment only to remove protesters from the hotel.”
“We want Assam to prosper and shine. Akhil wants the state to stay in a state of destitution. He is protesting against outsiders staying at the hotel because of this.”
It needs to be mentioned that that rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and the MLAs from his party have been staying at the Radisson Blu hotel since Wednesday. They have arrived from Surat in Gujarat amid the politicial turmoil in Maharashtra.