Following allegations that cabinet minister James Sangma was involved in illegal coal smuggling in the State, the State BJP has today demanded immediate arrest of the minister and all those involved in the racket.
In a statement issued to the media today, the BJP said that Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui should order immediate arrest of the people involved in the illegal coal racket which was cracked by the Assam Police a day ago.
“The Home Minister should not act arbitrarily when it has come to light that Power Minister James Sangma was involved,” State BJP vice president Bernard Marak said.
“Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui should not hide the high level culprits who are exploiting the public and the coalition partners. It was confirmed in some media reports that Power Minister James Sangma was involved. If James is involved in illegal transportation of coal, he should be immediately arrested along with others. The State government should stop functioning like a mafia gang cheating the public and making maximum self profit,” Marak added.
The BJP also said that it now had fear of trusting the NPP going by the way corruption is taking place in the State.
“We want justice to be served by arresting the big shots involved in the illegal coal transportation. People are losing hope in the corruption we see every day in the State. Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui must stop being biased by siding with the ministers involved while poor drivers are put behind bars. Such illegal activity should not be tolerated at any cost. Law is equal for all,” the BJP vice president said.
It may be mentioned that a news channel from Guwahati – DY365 had on October 6 reported about how illegal transportation of coal was going on from Meghalaya to Guwahati.
The news channel also stated that one Sujit Paul was arrested by Assam police on October 5 for facilitating illegal entry of illegal coal laden trucks into Assam. The channel also today reported that one more person identified as Dipen Barua was arrested from Khanapara, Guwahati for being involved in the coal smuggling racket from Meghalaya.
It may be recalled that in February this year, some of the ministers in the MDA government had also raised this same issue before the chief minister, and at that time they alleged that the home department and transport department have failed to act and stop the illegal transportation of coal.
Later, reshuffling of portfolios took place within the MDA government, where the home (police) portfolio was taken away from James K. Sangma and allotted to Lahkmen Rymbui.
However, the transport department continues to remain with Sniawbhalang Dhar, a powerful NPP minister from Jaiñtia Hills.
