By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 24: In the wake of Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh moving the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a probe into Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark describing Meghalaya as the “most-corrupt state”, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has refrained from commenting on the same, contending that the matter is between the senior Congress leader and the probe agency.
“You need to ask him (Jairam Ramesh) and I have nothing to say. I do not want to comment anything since I have already made the statement on the floor of the House,” the chief minister said.
It may be recalled that Ramesh, taking to his Twitter, announced that he had written to the Director of CBI for questioning the Union Home Minister on his categorical assertion that Conrad Sangma’s government in Meghalaya was the most corrupt in the country.
“That of course did not prevent BJP from supporting the same Conrad Sangma again,” Ramesh tweeted.
In the letter dated March 23, Ramesh said, “Shri Amit Shah is also the Home Minister of India. In his capacity as the Home Minister, he would surely have had access to information and facts that led him to the above conclusion. For some inexplicable reasons, the Home Minister, who is also the former national president of Bharatiya Janata Party, has failed to act upon the information regarding the corrupt practices and instances of the then Meghalaya government.”
“In the highest national interest, urged upon the CBI director to summon Shri Amit Shah and ask him to submit all the information and facts that led him to stated assessment and investigate the matter,” he added.
The Congress leader also asked the CBI to investigate if Shah was under any undue duress from his party or other forces, to suppress the information relating to the “corruption” in Meghalaya, “in order to enable his party Bharatiya Janata Party to support the same Chief Minister after the recent Meghalaya elections.”
It may be recalled that Shah, while addressing a public meeting in Rangsakona in the run-up to the assembly elections, had promised that a committee led by a Supreme Court judge will investigate all the corruption cases in Meghalaya if the BJP comes to power.
Shah had also remarked, “Under Conrad Sangma, the electricity discom of the State became bankrupt due to corruption by the State Government.”
