By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In another attempt to discredit the Congress candidate from Shillong East, Ampareen Lyngdoh, in the last leg of the election campaign, a group of residents of Malki on Monday accused her of giving a cheque of Rs 15,000 dated January 7 to the parent of a girl student wishing to pursue engineering at Don Bosco University, Guwahati.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the parent of the girl who identified himself as Rajesh Modi said Ampareen Lyngdoh had visited his house on January 7 while on a door-to-door campaign and during that visit she presented a cheque to his daughter for her studies.
“She is not even an MLA of Malki and I don’t know under which scheme she has given money to my daughter,” Modi told reporters here.
Alleging use of money power, the complainants, who claimed to be residents of Malki, said they have decided to file a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against Ampareen Lyngdoh for allegedly trying to woo voters by using ‘money-power’.
Modi asserted that Lyngdoh had issued a cheque of Rs 15,000 from her personal account to his daughter Aarti Khyriemmujat – a first-year engineering student of Don Bosco University, Guwahati hailing from Malki Khlieh Shnong.
Asked why it took so long to reveal the matter, Modi said he came to know about the cheque from his wife only a few days ago.
It may be noted that the ECI had declared the polling date for the Meghalaya Election on January 11 and it was only on this date that the Model Code of Conduct came into effect.
“We demand stern action against the candidate for her intention to bribe voters,” Modi and a group of local residents from Malki told reporters at a news conference here on Monday.
Reacting to the allegation of vote buying, Ampareen Lyngdoh said that Rajesh Modi had approached her for assistance for his daughter but had demanded the money in cash.
“I don’t give cask to anyone since the money is from my discretionary funds. I also support the education of about 500 poor students from my constituency through this fund. Is it a sin to help people in need?” Ampareen questioned.
She said this was a ploy by her rival to discredit her at this juncture. “Let those with complaints go to the Election Commission with their brief. Why go to the media if it is not to create a hysteria against me?” Ampareen asked. She also asserted that when she wrote the cheque the Model Code of Conduct had not come into effect.