SHILLONG: Allegations of politician-militant nexus in Meghalaya dominated 2014 with the Opposition parties targeting Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and seeking his resignation even as police filed a charge sheet against Cabinet Minister Deborah Marak for her alleged nexus with GNLA during the 2013 Assembly polls in the State.
The revelation by ANVC-B political secretary Ajaju R Marak that the ANVC-B had supported Mukul Sangma to be in power led the Opposition to demand for a CBI or NIA probe.
The ANVC-B political secretary in a statement issued to the media on January 10 narrated how Sangma retained power with the help of ANVC-B and how some political leaders were also affected by the activities of ANVC-B in the last elections as per the direction of the Chief Minister.
Following this revelation, the main opposition party UDP and NPP demanded a CBI or NIA probe into this alleged nexus.
Two UDP legislators – T Chyne and Jemino Mawthoh – raised the issue before President Pranab Mukherjee and also demanded the Chief Minister’s removal.
According to the two UDP legislators, Mukherjee expressed serious concern over the issue and advised them to take up the matter with the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The two UDP legislators who were part of the North East Regional Party Forum (NERPF) delegation had also met Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and BJP national president Rajnath Singh to raise the alleged nexus of the Chief Minister with militant group.
In a unique attempt to expose the wrongdoings of the Congress-led MUA-II Coalition Government, the principal Opposition UDP had framed a ‘charge sheet’ on four counts against the Chief Minister.
Releasing the ‘charge sheet’ in the form of a booklet titled ‘ABCD of MUA-II’, UDP working president Paul Lyngdoh said that the people of the State have enough ground to ‘charge sheet’ the Congress-led government due to its inability to probe the alleged nexus of the Chief Minister with militants, the education scam, the need to arrest scam tainted JHADC chief MB Rymbai and the inability of the Government to construct the Assembly building for the last 13 years while the Chief Minister had constructed a palatial building for himself within six months.
According to the UDP leader, the public ‘charge sheet’, finds the Chief Minister and his Government guilty of grievous crimes against the people of Meghalaya and the State.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma however challenged the UDP to provide proof of the allegation leveled against him by the party.
He further stated that if it was possible for anyone to become the Chief Minister of the State just with the help of militant outfits, then what was the need for parties.
Before the Lok Sabha polls, NPP leader PA Sangma had also accused the Chief Minister of being the common chairman of all militant outfits in the State which had compelled the Chief Minister to drag Purno to court for defamation.
Reacting to this statement, Chief Minister criticized his bête noire (Purno) for labeling him as the “common chairman” of all militant groups operating in the Garo Hills.
While the issue of politician-militant nexus lingered on, in a surprise move, the police initiated steps to charge sheet Deborah Marak for her alleged links with GNLA to win the 2013 polls.
East Garo Hills Police filed the charge sheet against Marak and political activist Tennydard Marak in November for allegedly hatching a conspiracy with the banned outfit GNLA to influence the voters in the Assembly elections held in February 2013.
Jonathon N Sangma, who had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections from Williamnagar, had filed an FIR on February 16, 2013, against Deborah accusing her of taking the help of GNLA to influence the voters to vote for her in the elections.
Jonathon had alleged about the use of GNLA militants’ power by Deborah to intimidate villages to ensure they did not vote for him.
Deborah was however granted bail in connection with the case.
UDP working president Bindo Mathew Lanong had termed the Deborah charge sheet episode as a political move, and added that there was a lot of politicization in the present Congress-led Government in the State.
Lanong recalled that the ANVC-B had made a public statement claiming that Sangma has taken their help during the political turmoil in the State and lamented that nothing has been done to investigate if the claim of the militant group was true.