SHILLONG: BJP still smarting under the NPP-led government’s refusal to institute a probe into alleged embezzlement of central funds in the two district councils, has not officially reacted to the state government’s decision to go for an open-ended state audit.
BJP state president Ernest Mawrie who first made public the corruption allegations, says that BJP will stick to the demand for CBI enquiry to make things fair and transparent. “We have nothing to say about the CM’s initiative to get the enquiry done at his level but we believe the CBI enquiry will bring out the real facts.”
BJP MLA Sanbor Shullai said as of now he was not in a position to say anything on the matter of the enquiry into the affairs of GHADC and JHADC. He however disclosed that on Friday at 3 pm there will be a core committee meeting convened by party president, Ernest Mawrie. It is expected that Mawrie would place all the necessary papers he has collected vide RTI.
“Everything will be clear when the president puts all the papers on the table. This is the first time we will be meeting as a Party after the allegations were made, otherwise we were learning about the entire episode from the media,” Shullai said.
BJP spokesperson, Bernard Marak, meanwhile, has asserted that the party leaders stand united against corruption and they will not stop till corruption is rooted out.
“The allegations made by some against the BJP president Ernest Mawrie are baseless and solely intended to malign his image because he is fighting against corruption,” he said.
Stating that Garo Hills has been devastated through corruption, Marak said BJP’s demand for CBI inquiry into the GHADC scam still stands as it is the demand of the people.
“The state government should stop acting like they don’t know about corruption in GHADC and instead they should allow CBI to probe into the misuse of funds in the Council. Garo Hills will vote against corruption and it can be proved if they hold elections on time,” he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong took an indirect swipe at the BJP and remarked that it was not the BJP alone which was concerned about corruption. He said each and every political party in the state and the country was concerned about this scourge.
“To say that BJP alone is concerned about corruption is not right,” Tynsong said while responding to a query and reiterated that if there are any issues be it corruption or anything related to the interests of the state, everyone needs to make a proper presentation and through a proper platform.
“If you go to the media, where is the solution and if you have grievances, I will suggest not only to BJP but everybody, including Congress, to come through a platform where we can take a call on any matter,” Tynsong added.