SHILLONG, Feb 7: The United Democratic Party (UDP) said they have not been quiet on illegal activities while advising the Congress not to derive political mileage out of any issue.
The Opposition raising issues on illegalities is healthy for democracy but they should not go out of bounds, UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh told The Shillong Times on Sunday.
“We did not keep quiet after the BJP first raised the issue of illegalities and corruption. Our minister, Kyrmen Shylla said he is open for any investigation and we have taken a similar stand for the JHADC and GHADC,” he said in reaction to the Congress’s view that the allies of the NPP in the MDA government would pay the price for their silence.
“I agree that a price has to be paid for illegalities of any kind. But this applies not only to the MDA government but also to successive governments earlier,” Mawthoh said.
Reminding that the state government has started the internal audit for GHADC, he said the UDP has been insisting on waiting for the findings before taking a decision.
“It is not right to ask our Minister to resign without any substantial evidence,” he added.
Mawthoh said the UDA was against corruption but there is a certain way of correcting the system.
“The opposition raising issues is a healthy sign in a democracy and everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. But one should not be off limits,” he said.
He reminded the Congress that the MDA has never denied any illegality.
“Illegalities have been going on for donkey’s years but they are being noticed now because of the ban on mining by the National Green Tribunal. Six miners died in 2013 and so many cases of death of miners have gone unreported,” Mawthoh said.
Asking the Congress not to go overboard in accusing the government of sitting idle, he said it was not proper for the party to keep demanding the Home Minister’s resignation instead of taking up common concerns and issues with the coordination committee.
