Tata Tea Ltd has stated in an affidavit that it had made an offer to the banned Ulfa to help individuals recommended by it under the company145s controversial medical assistance scheme. The tea major has also stated that the offer had the sanction of the Centre.
The affidavit was submitted in the Mumbai High Court on Octo-ber 6 when Tata Tea managing director R Krishna Kumar and executive director S M Kidwai sought the enlargement of the scope of the anticipatory bail granted to them on September 9.
145...(The) company offered the setting up of a medical aid scheme of which the general public as well as any person recommended by Ulfa would be beneficiaries. This offer to Ulfa was also cleared by the Centre,145 the two officials stated in the affidavit.
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Assam government sources said apart from substantiating its charges against the company, the affidavit showed the Centre in poor light. They said the statement added to the objections of the state government that the home ministry did not share information with the state.
Ever since the controversy broke out in September, the company has said the Centre was always kept posted about its dealings with the Ulfa. Reports suggest that the company has been in touch with an Intelligence Bureau official in this regard.
However, sources in the Union home ministry did not rule out the possibility of the IB official not keeping his superiors informed about the Tata Tea-Ulfa dealings.
The controversy appears to be fast assuming the dimensions of a Centre-state dispute. Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta told reporters here yesterday, 145There should be a proper relationship between the Centre and the state governments,145 but conceded that both Prime Minister
I K Gujral and home minister Indrajit Gupta had given him a free hand in tackling the issue. Mahanta would not comment further on the row since a related matter is scheduled to come up in the Supreme Court today.
He said the second round of interrogations of Krishna Kumar and Kidwai ended in Guwahati yesterday. The Assam police have also issued summons to the company145s general manager (northern India plantation division) S S Dogra, Mumbai office manager K Sridhar and divisional manager Mahabir Singh.
l145 Tata Tea row a prestige issue for AGP145 145 Page 2