Whether or not the TMC will come to power in Meghalaya is immaterial. What is of significance is the body of work related to Meghalaya by national spokesperson of the TMC, Saket Gokhale. He has been able to put his finger on the pulse of the State and unearth all the ugly dealings indulged in by the MDA Government. Indeed, with the MDA Government there is a stench of corruption in every department where funds are parked such as the PWD (Roads), (Buildings), PHE, Health, Mining and Geology, Social Welfare, among others.
The TMC has now found out that the contract for the Meghalaya Assembly building in New Shillong which was in the news for the infamous dome collapse was given to the firm – Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Ltd (UPRNNL), which then sub-contracted the whole work to two firms that were earlier disqualified on technical grounds. How the first firm was able to get away with subcontracting the work to the two firms is itself the crux of the matter because that needed the consent of the higher ups in the PWD (Buildings). Who in the hierarchy of power gave the concurrence for the sub-contracting part? The public has the right to know this. That the NPP as a party has patronized the Engineer who oversaw the construction of the Assembly building shows that the Party is cocking a snook at the public. The message from the NPP is that the people can continue to question it but it just does not care for public opinion. Such levels of arrogance have never been seen in any political party in the past.
Even with the corruption in the Police Department, the matter is now sought to be hushed up as the matter recedes from media headlines. It is learnt that the AIG(A) in question who is alleged to have single-handedly acquired 29 vehicles of all makes and parked them at his home without registering them for want of the necessary documents, has been questioned by the enquiry committee. How is it that the entire government process of acquiring vehicles based on the need in the Police Department was short-circuited? Is it not the right of the public to know now as to how the case is proceeding? Why is there so much secrecy on every front? What is the Government trying to hide? In the past there were several pressure groups that took up matters of corruption with all seriousness they deserve. These days these groups have gone into hiding for reasons best known to them. Other civil society groups too seem to have lost steam. Meghalaya’s future is precariously poised even as the NPP looks at a second tenure in 2023.
