CM patronising scams in Power dept: Cong

SHILLONG, July 12: Firing a direct salvo at Chief Minister Conrad Sangma over the irregularities in the Power department, Congress Spokesperson Zenith Sangma on Monday demanded the resignation of the chief minister, claiming that the “scams” in MeECL were taking place under his “patronage”.
Dismissing outright Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s recent statement that sacking incumbent Power Minister James Sangma would undermine the inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL), Zenith also cast aspersions on the modus operandi of the Power Minister.
“His (CM’s) statement is rubbish and there is no logic in it. How can MeECL be independent when the government is interfering into everything?” Zenith questioned.
He alleged that James has been directing the show in the Power department since assuming charge.
Speaking about the preliminary audit report mentioning a scam of Rs 149 crore in the Saubhagya scheme, Zenith slammed the chief minister for perpetually being on denial mode.
The Congress spokesperson also termed the constitution of the three-member inquiry committee to probe the MeECL ‘irregularities’ as eyewash.
“The technical member is the retired Executive Director of Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd. and has good connections with M/s Satnam Global Infra Ltd., the company awarded the Saubhagya scheme and several other projects,” Zenith claimed.
“Therefore, without any reasonable doubt we can foresee that the report of the inquiry committee could be biased,” he asserted.