AIZAWL: Anti-corruption organisation Prism (People’s Right to Information and Development Implementing Society) was quick to react to Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla’s statement in the Assembly House that explained why the vigilance commission has not been set up.
Terming the reasons cited by Lal Thanhawla as ‘lame excuses’, the corruption watchdog strongly demanded the Congress government to form the state vigilance commission as per its election manifesto.
The state vigilance commission figured prominently in the Congress party’s electoral promises to bring about corruption-free government. Downplaying its own promise indicates that the Congress party is not really committed to ‘uproot corruption’ as it had promised,” a statement of Prism said today.
The chief minister on Thursday informed that the house that the strengthening of the state Anti-Corruption Branch (now Bureau), giving consent to the CBI, the existence of chief vigilance officer, the upcoming Lok Pal Bill and financial constraint made it not necessary to form the vigilance commission.
Calling these ‘lame excuses’, the Prism claimed that the people of Mizoram voted the Congress party to power because it made commitment to ‘uproot corruption’.
”If the Congress government is no more interested in setting up the most effective tool to fight corruption, it means that it does not really hate corruption,” the civic organisation said.The Prism will continue to struggle to ensure that the Lal Thanhawla government forms the state vigilance commission before the end of the present term as it had promised to the people of Mizoram. (UNI)