By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 30: The Opposition Congress asserted on Saturday that although the repeated accusations of wrongdoing and corruption against the NPP-led MDA Government are not shocking, the public will eventually rise up and the government will have to pay a heavy price for their actions.
The party was reacting to the sacking of three Lokayukta Investigation Officers for allegedly discovering a significant scam in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) involving an MLA for the ruling NPP, via a WhatsApp message.
“People have known about the government for the past five to six years, not just the NPP but also the UDP and its other allies. As they say, you reap what you sow,” MPCC president, Vincent H Pala said while responding to the report.
He declared, “They have a specific group of people in mind, not the general public or development. For instance, when it comes to contract works, you will notice that it is difficult to find competent contractors these days. Instead, most contracts are awarded to the friends and family of those in power, and even government jobs are subject to the possibility of future scandals.”
Pala claimed that as the party president and an MP from this area, he has heard numerous complaints and accusations made against the state government.
Declaring that people will eventually rebel against the corrupt practices of the State government, he said that even VPP president Ardent M Basaiawmoit is known for bringing attention to these issues.
“Corruption and misappropriation are not surprising; there are a lot of different aspects and things that have happened are not new,” he continued.
Kingstone B Sangma, the complainant in the GHADC scam case, had claimed that the state government cannot fire officials without issuing termination letters.
He had said that the government is trying to save its face since Mahendraganj MLA, Sanjay A Sangma has been charge sheeted for anomalies in the construction of the MDC hostel. The MLA is the brother-in-law of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
Kingstone said the trial against the MLA is still on at the District Special Session Court.
According to him, these officers were also removed with the intention to protect one Twinkle Newar Sangma who is also a “well-wisher” of the government since there is an inquiry going on against her on a documentary project which was allotted by the GHADC at a cost of Rs 5.82 crore.
“The government is trying to save the people who are the well-wishers of this government,” Kingstone had said.
Questioning the claim of the government that they were removed because they were officers who had retired, the complainant said that this is not acceptable since those who were appointed for the earlier inquiry were also retired officials.