SHILLONG, May 20: Despite the demand from opposition parties for a judicial probe against Deputy Chief Minister, Sniawbhalang Dhar for allegedly funding the banned HNLC, the Meghalaya government has given a virtual clean chit to the minister.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Tuesday said the government has accepted Dhar’s statement that he neither has any links with the outfit nor paid any money to them.
“I stand by the statement of the Deputy Chief Minister that he has no such links or has ever paid any money to HNLC,” Tynsong said.
He was clear that if some sections of the people are still unhappy with Dhar’s clarification, they are free to find out more but as far as the government is concerned, his statement has been accepted.
Asked if the government has decided not to order a probe into the allegations, Tynsong said there are thousands of allegations made against the government but it does not mean that the government will order probes into all those allegations.
The Opposition VPP has demanded an NIA probe into the matter besides asking Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to drop Dhar from the ministry.
“As we had mentioned in our press statement, this is a very serious matter. For a Cabinet Minister, Deputy CM, an allegation by an outfit is not a matter of joke. The government needs to look into this matter with utmost seriousness and he should be dropped from the Cabinet,” said VPP president and Nongkrem MLA Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, who reiterated that the party will pursue the issue to its “logical end.”
