TMC slams MDA for ‘clean chit’

SHILLONG, June 11: The Opposition Trinamool Congress on Sunday slammed the NPP-led MDA 2.0 Government for giving itself a clean chit on the alleged rice ‘scam’ without even caring to make the inquiry report public.
“It is almost a hundred days of the new dispensation coming to power and there is no electricity, no jobs, no water and now, no scams,” Meghalaya TMC vice president, George B. Lyngdoh said on Sunday.
“We should learn the art of governance from this particular dispensation who, without making the investigation reports public, is giving a clean chit to itself, by itself, rather than serving the people and giving us the confidence that this government means business,” he said.
Social Welfare Minister Paul Lyngdoh had recently said that the inquiry report which was submitted to the government had ruled the allegations of the rice ‘scam’ as ‘baseless’.
“The recent statement that has come from the government on rice scam is not a surprise to the citizens since it has become a part of the daily activity of the government to brush away any allegation of corruption,” the TMC leader said.
Recalling that the misappropriation of FCI rice that was supposed to go to ICDS centres or units was a startling revelation, he said, “After the rice was caught, the chief minister immediately rose to the occasion and conducted a press conference with several ICDS food items being displayed during the press conference.”
“The sudden reaction of the CM back then had caught everyone by surprise since the CM was busy clarifying on a matter that needed thorough investigation,” Lyngdoh said.
“It is questionable that the CM had rushed to call a press conference in order to clarify on the confiscation of Meghalaya FCI rice from a godown in Assam. This indicates that the CM knew about the rice that had gone to Assam. It seems as if he was caught with his hands inside the rice bags,” the TMC leader said.
He also condemned the government move to brush the rice grains under the carpet and reach an understanding with his allies that the rice scam never happened.
“I can only see connivance among the MDA allies to redefine the definition of governance. The new definition of governance for this new dispensation is having the skills to convert scams into policies,” he added.