SHILLONG, Feb 15: A day after scam-tainted MPS officer Gabriel K Iangrai alleged that he has been a victim of a “high-level political-khaki vendetta” and that he fears for his life, the VPP on Wednesday assured that it will institute an independent probe if voted to power.
“We feel that there is a need for an independent agency to probe if there is a bigger conspiracy into the revelation made by the MPS officer. We will definitely institute a probe into this whole racket,” VPP president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said while speaking to reporters.
Stating that the VPP believes in justice, Basaiawmoit said that they would like to see an independent agency investigating the allegations levelled by Iangrai.
“Whatever allegations are made by the police officer are in the open. Even the Judiciary is aware of the various developments in the state. It will be futile to demand an independent probe from the incumbent government, which are involved,” Basaiawmoit said.
The VPP president also said that the statement made by the MPS officer is only the tip of the iceberg.
“You can see that the statement of the police officer is just a tip of the iceberg and there are many such scams and irregularities in various government departments. We hope this revelation will help the people to understand the importance of cleaning the whole system,” he said.
Meanwhile, Basaiawmoit also asked the people to not be misled by and give a chance to the VPP for leading the state.
“Give us a chance to expose all the irregularities and scams which are there. As leaders, we have formed the VPP to put in place corruption-free governance,” he said.
Taking a jibe at other regional parties, the VPP president said, “We cannot expect (such assurances) from other regional parties since they will only change their uniform.”
‘Coal trade in Meghalaya purposely made illegal’
Meanwhile, VPP candidate from Pynthorumkhrah, Mayborn Lyngdoh, on Wednesday said that the coal trade in Meghalaya has been purposely made illegal to serve the interest of those in power.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Lyngdoh said that if coal amounting to Rs 2.5 crore is transported outside the state on a daily basis then the GST to be collected will be Rs 46 lakh, adding that the state share from this GST would be Rs 23 lakh.
According to him, the state exchequer is not getting revenue from the transportation of coal at the moment since it is being transported illegally.
He said that if the state was generating revenue from the transportation of coal, then paying the salaries of teachers, health workers, ASHAs, et al, on time would not have been a herculean task for the government.
“Now, only a few vested interests are benefitting from this illegal transportation of coal,” Lyngdoh said.
The VPP candidate also questioned the claim of the government that it has not been able to fill up more than 8,000 vacant posts due to financial constraints.
When asked about his feedback on the performance of the sitting Pynthorumkhrah MLA and BJP candidate AL Hek, Lyngdoh said Hek, as an individual, is a good man and approachable.
“As far as a politician, Bah Hek’s score card is very poor. I have seen it for the last 20 years. Poor people are getting poorer, there are no employment opportunities for the youths, there is no development for the people, and the constituency suffers from water scarcity,” Lyngdoh said.
The VPP candidate also said that his first priority, if elected to power, would be to work for the students by providing them free education as per the Right to Education Act, 2009.
“When it comes to the teachers, we have so many categories of teachers —ad hoc, deficit, SSA, fourth teachers, contractual and not to forget the private teachers,” he said, arguing that there should only be three categories of teachers, viz. government, aided and private teachers.
“We will make this happen if, by Grace of God, we win and actually I become the Education Minister. I have already sorted a plan on how to distribute the funds to these three categories of teachers. We are working for the welfare of everyone. We can make this happen by way of proper utilisation of various funds,” he added.
