Weapons seizure: Mukul slams CM

SHILLONG, Aug 19: The Opposition Congress has mocked Chief Minister Conrad Sangma for his meek appeal to the unidentified youths to return the snatched police weapons, accusing him of being unable to shoulder responsibility and trace the whereabouts of the weapons.
“It is surprising that the CM is begging to get back the arms? It is his job to know where the arms have gone. He can’t shoulder this responsibility but he wants to be on the chair?” Opposition leader Mukul Sangma questioned on Thursday.
Stressing that everybody should fear the law and any civilized nation will have to ensure that, Mukul said, “It is the law that regulates everybody’s action; it is the law that acts as a deterrent otherwise the world will not be liveable.”
On the current prevailing situation in the state, the former CM said, “What you are seeing is only the tip of the iceberg. I have tried to draw the attention of the Government particularly the Chief Minister to convene the meeting of the State Security Commission but we did not see any response.”
“You can see a complete insensitivity towards this area of concern. You should ask the CM how many of the MLAs and ministers have received demand notes and then you will know the gravity of the situation,” Mukul stated.
Asked to elaborate further on this, he said, “You will have to ask the CM. He should answer.”
“The previous government had restored peace and normalcy in the state and we take pride in being able to do so. However, it has now slipped back,” he added.
The Opposition leader also claimed that the CM was desperately trying to justify the police action and had already drawn his own conclusion. “He should not jump to a conclusion and wait for the inquiry report,” Mukul added.  Reacting to the government decision to hand over the probe to the MSHRC chairman, Mukul said, “We are asking for an independent inquiry with appropriate terms of reference. MSHRC is guided by laws and parameters and they do not have to be guided by the government.”
“MHRC is already mandated by law. Even if the government does not issue a notification they will take cognizance of the incident and they will conduct an inquiry. This is how the MHRC works,” he added.