GUWAHATI, July 4 – Opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today launched a broadside against the State Government alleging that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is “directly involved” in the multi-crore NC Hills District Autonomous Council (NCHDAC) scam. The party also reiterated its demand for a thorough CBI enquiry into the scam covering all the departments of the Autonomous Council.
It also alleged that both the Central and the State Governments are politicking on the issue of ULFA insurgency. The Prime Minister and Union Home Minister and the Chief Minister differ in their views on the issue. From their statements, it has become clear that their only concern is how to derive maximum political mileage out of this issue, alleged the opposition party.
Addressing a press conference here, AGP general secretary and chief spokesman Atul Bora said that the latest activities of the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi are enough to make one doubt his (Gogoi’s) ‘direct involvement in the scam or his patronizing those involved in it.
He also alleged that the Tarun Gogoi-led Government in the State was trying to blackmail the AGP by re-opening the CBI cases in connection with the Rs 400-crore Veterinary LoC scam, which were closed 21 years back.
The embarrassment of the ruling party with the Opposition’s demand for a thorough enquiry into the NC Hills scam is apparent. In the face of the issue, the Chief Minister and his Ministerial colleagues busy themselves in different tactics to divert the people’s attention to other things, he asserted.
The ruling party also got Samarjit Haflongbar removed from the post of the Chief Executive Member (CEM) when he assured the CBI to hand over the relevant papers of the period falling between 2001 and 2009, in connection with the NCHDAC scam.
To remove Haflongbar from the post, the ruling party got the meeting the NCHDAC convened with only one day’s notice, which is unprecedented. The role of the Governor in this respect is also not beyond doubt, alleged the AGP spokesman.
The Chief Minister also owes the people of the State a clarification as to whether he is inefficient or corrupt. As, he being the Finance Minister of the State, huge sums of money belonging to the State’s exchequer were misappropriated either without his knowledge or with his consent, Bora said.
He also dared the Chief Minister to make his stand clear as to whom he is siding with on the issue of the mega-dam projects proposed in the NE region after the report of the expert committee calling for steps to shelve all such projects.
The State Government has failed also to rein in the skyrocketing prices of the essential commodities and it is taking recourse to hollow excuses to justify rise in the prices of these items. With such activities, this Government is proving itself as an anti-people one, said the AGP chief spokesman.
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