SHILLONG, Jan 30: The BJP has questioned the delay in the completion of the audit ordered into the alleged misuse of central funds in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC).
“I will speak to the Chief Minister on this matter and urge him to speed up the inquiry. Any inquiry should be within a stipulated time and not hang fire,” state BJP president Ernest Mawrie said Sunday.
He recalled raising the issue in a meeting of all political parties where Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said a local audit had been ordered to find out the facts.
Mawrie said reports of illegalities continue to be received from Garo Hills while the audit report is awaited.
Reminding that the money was sanctioned by the central government under a special grant
for the development of the rural areas, he said: “I request the minister in charge of district councils to speed up the inquiry so that we can place it in the public domain.”
The state BJP had earlier demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged misappropriation of crores of rupees sanctioned under the Special Assistance Grant to the JHADC and GHADC, but the state government ordered an audit of the GHADC’s finances for five years from 2015 to 2020.
Meanwhile, a senior official said the report on the audit of the JHADC accounts will be ready soon. An assistant director heading the audit team has almost completed the proofreading of the report, he added.
He also said the Directorate of Local Fund Audit will approach the Finance department for submitting the report to the District Council Affairs department.
4-5 MLAs willing
to join BJP
The BJP has claimed that four to five sitting MLAs are willing to join the party in the state.
“Some of the MLAs have sent feelers to us. They are keen to join us but it is too early to reveal (everything) now. Let’s wait and watch. There will be a lot of changes six months before (Assembly) elections,” the state BJP chief said.
He refused to disclose the names of the MLAs willing to jump ship. The BJP had made similar claims earlier but nobody defected to the party.
The BJP state chief’s claim comes a day after Congress leader Ampareen Lyngdoh’s statement that all political parties in the state would face the defection of their MLAs ahead of polls.
Talking about last elections, Mawrie said although the party had won two seats, it emerged second and third in many constituencies.
“We already have our presence in the state. If you go by vote share, we did well in many constituencies,” he said.
On the recent statement of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) state president, Charles Pyngrope that the claims of the BJP cannot be taken on face value, Mawrie said, “AITC is a local party and it cannot compare itself with us as we are a national party with presence everywhere.”
“I do not think the people of our state will accept them as they are running the West Bengal government. The statement of Bah Charles (Pyngrope) is wrong. He won the election from Congress and merged himself with AITC. They do not have originality,” he added.
Meanwhile, BJP national council member, Bashailang Khongwir said the National People’s Party (NPP) has managed to silence the BJP on crucial issues.
Stating that the BJP leaders have made a U-turn from their anti-government stance and it has affected the party’s image, Khongwir said, “We cannot blame the NPP leaders for all this. While they have managed to silence the BJP leaders in the interest of their party, the BJP is left without any stand on the crucial issues.”
He said the NPP has continued to grow but the Congress got weakened by the defection of the MLAs to the AITC, whose growth and penetration into the state is to be watched out for.
“Despite being a national party, the BJP has not been able to grow here nor has it benefitted from the division in the Congress,” Khongwir observed.
He said the BJP should have sensed the divided Congress house and made the most out of it rather than being a mere spectator to the turn of events that unfolded.
“With just two seats and continuous infighting, it is not hard to imagine if we can even hold on to them,” he added.
On the leadership issue in the BJP, he said, “Why can’t we have an open debate on it? If people question my leadership, I should be open to a discussion or even voting.”
He suggested that Mawrie call upon the leaders to settle the dispute and prevent party members and leaders from defecting to other parties.
“Our house needs to be put in order and strengthened, so that we can groom new leaders and attract winning candidates.”