Special Correspondent
ITANAGAR:
As the protest by the Arunachal Against Corruption (AAC) team at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi intensifies and gains wide media coverage, another Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Arunachal Pradesh has come out in support of Chief Minister Pema Khandu.
After state BJP president Biyuram Waghe came out in support of Khandu, now state secretary of the BJP, Tadar Niglar, has come forward to shower praise on the CM. In an exclusive interview with The Meghalayan on September 29, Niglar said that the protest led by the AAC is nothing but a politically motivated protest.
“If you want to contest the election then come back to the state. The state government said there is no corruption but this team said there is corruption. Who are we to judge when only the court should judge? This team did not dare to file a corruption case in court against the CM, instead it went to Delhi. What Delhi can do for the state of Arunachal? Other previous state governments before have done so much corruption,” Niglar said.
“Our State in those previous years was famous for being a corrupted State but as soon as this Pema Khandu Government came, there was so much change. The CM has brought so many reforms to regulate the Staff Selection Board (SSB) in the job recruitment process. Before, anybody can get a government job if the job seeker is related to the politician,” he stated.
More than 10 social activists from Arunachal Pradesh have reached New Delhi this week alone, with the AAC team having reached Delhi from September 25. Among the protesters are renowned social activist of the state, Sol Dodum, and veteran RTI activist of the state, Vijay Pertin.
BJP leaders with close ties to Khandu have heavily criticised the protest carried out by the AAC, and Waghe, who is also the MLA of Pakke Kesang constituency, had on September 27 defended the state government. Waghe had asked if Pema Khandu is corrupt, why would he call for a CBI probe into the APPSC examination paper leak.
Niglar also picked up on the issue and said, “Regarding the APPSC paper leakage also, the government is taking this issue very seriously and has called for a CBI enquiry. CM will take action against those involved, if found guilty by the CBI.”
“Our state now has many Advanced Landing Ground (ALG); the ALG in Tezu, Pasighat, Anini, and Ziro are functional. These same ALGs were left unattended for many years before the foundation was laid. In 2005 these ALGs foundation stones were laid and it was only in 2019 after the Pema Khandu government took over, all these ALGs were completed.
“In six years after the Pema Khandu Government was formed, there is so much developmental work that has taken place. The AAC team said that the government is not working then how is that possible; how will we believe them?” he stated.
He also went on to speak about the various developmental works that were done by the present state government, saying, “We have only one convention centre in the state and that also was built by this present government. The foundation stone was laid by (L) Dorjee Khandu in 2009-10 and the chief minister that came after (L) Dorjee Khandu did not build the centre, and it was only after his son Pema Khandu became CM that we are able to have this holistic convention centre.”
“There are hundreds of developmental projects that are in the offing especially in the construction category. We see the Sela Top tunnel which is functioning now. How can you say that there is no development and there is only corruption? If you want to be a leader then come up on the stage and fight for elections. There is no point to carry placards and shame yourself and roam on the street and protest with the expectation to be a leader. Serve the people in the state first, before becoming a leader,” Niglar asserted.
Meanwhile, contradicting the many claims, RTI activist Vijay Pertin told media persons in New Delhi that there is so much corruption going on in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana (PMGAY); a social welfare programme, created by the Indian Government, to provide housing for the rural poor in India. A similar scheme for urban poor was launched in 2015 as Housing for All by 2022.
In his RTI findings, Pertin said that those beneficiaries who are supposed to get the housing scheme, did not get but their names have been submitted to the central government as proof that they have received the housing scheme. Pertin also lauded the AAC team and said that others have forced him to file a case in the court, however he said the court will take generations to investigate and ‘it is not a joke’.
The president of All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA), Byabang Joram, came forward to support the AAC team, in New Delhi. While addressing those gathered at the protest site at Jantar Mantar, Joram dared the CM to call for a CBI probe into the alleged multiple scams committed by his government from 2019 onwards.
Toko Sheetal, who is chairperson of the AAC, asked the people of the state to come and witness the ongoing protest and see for themselves if there are any political leaders from the opposition who are involved and sponsoring the team.