SHILLONG, Nov 14: The state BJP, a constituent of the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) Government, has asked Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma to convene the Coordination Committee meeting of the allies to discuss the status of various probes undertaken over the months.
“I have asked the chief minister to convene the meeting of all the party presidents on the issues of MeECL, rice scam and other inquiries that are going on,” state BJP president Ernest Mawrie told The Shillong Times on Sunday.
He said Sangma has assured to convene the meeting after the joint interstate boundary inspection with his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma.
“I met him at his residence and mentioned the pending inquiries,” Mawrie said, adding that he expects the meeting after the boundary inspection.
Mawrie said the MLAs of the ruling coalition parties had met last Tuesday and the decisions of this meeting will be taken up by the respective party presidents.
He denied that the BJP has gone silent against corruption after being very vocal. “We are carrying the issues forward and raising them on the right platform. We have zero-tolerance for corruption and we cannot compromise,” he said.
The issues will be raised again at the MDA Coordination Committee meeting, he asserted.
The state government had under pressure appointed a retired judge more than three months ago to probe the rice scam that was unearthed in Assam in June. The inquiry is yet to start.
Officials said the department concerned is finalising the terms and conditions as requested by Justice (retd) Mool Chand Garg of Madhya Pradesh High Court who is heading the independent inquiry. The Chief Minister is expected to finalise the terms and conditions in a few days.
Apart from a probe into the irregularities in the MeECL, a one-man inquiry committee is also investigating the death of former HNCL general secretary Cheristerfield Thangkhiew in an alleged fake encounter.