Still giving the authorities the benefit of the doubt, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA for Pynthorumkhrah AL Hek today said that it is too early to say if the case against Tura MDC and party colleague Bernard Marak is all because of a political vendetta.
Marak has been under arrest since late last month after police raided a property belonging to him in Tura on suspicion that it was being used as a brothel. The party’s state leadership has claimed that the case against Marak is due to his frequent criticism of the state government and Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, who it has been suggested he was planning to challenge for the South Tura seat at next year’s state elections.
“It is too early to ascertain if there is a political vendetta or not,” Hek said while adding that the investigation would benefit from an impartial and independent probe.
The former cabinet minister also condemned the alleged police harassment of BJP workers in Tura, which has followed in the wake of the Marak case. Police have been accused by the BJP state leadership of summoning party workers to the police station late at night and holding them for hours before letting them go.
Asked if this kind of incident will hamper the relationship between the BJP and the National People’s Party, the largest party in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government, Hek said that all political parties may work together in an alliance but when they are on the ground campaigning they have their own separate manifestoes and own agenda.
