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BJP demands probe into North East scams

By Spl Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Feb 12 � Blowing the lid off, probably the biggest scam in the North East, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed to have unearthed financial irregularities to the tune of whopping Rs 68,000 crore, including Rs 20,000 crore scam in Assam, in what it described as an �open loot�.

With corruption being the flavour of the season, BJP�s report complete with documents including Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, which is yet to be tabled in the Parliament, may become a headache for the Prime Minister and the UPA Government at the Centre.

The report titled �Congress Governments Loot of North East� has been drafted by a three-member team comprising national secretary, Dr Kirit Somaiya, vice president, Bijoya Chakravarty and national secretary, Tapir Gaon. The three-part report was presented to BJP national president Nitin Gadkari here this afternoon.

The function was also attended by Sarbananda Sonowal, Vijay Goel and Tamir Taga, MLA of Arunachal Pradesh. Sonowal was formally welcomed at the national headquarters of BJP.

Addressing the media, the BJP national president said that the party would meet the President soon to hand over a copy of the report with a demand to order all government investigation agencies to probe the scams. A BJP Parliamentary delegation is also going to meet the Prime Minister with a similar demand.

Gadkari said he is also planning to meet chairman of the PAC, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi to request him to ask the CAG to conduct a special survey of the accounts. If the UPA Government drags its feet, the BJP may take the route of PIL and move court on the basis of the documents collected by the three-member committee, the national president said.

The report however, appeared to be compilation of published material including CAG and media reports. Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Akhil Gogoi was also referred. �Akhil Gogoi unearthed two scams worth Rs 35 lakh and Rs 25 lakh regarding Indira Awas Yojana,� it said.

The report alleged scams including kickbacks from hydro power projects in Arunachal Pradesh were worth around Rs 30,000 crore, scam in Assam was estimated at Rs 20,000 crore, Manipur (Rs 5,000 crore), Nagaland, Mizoram was Rs 5000 crore each and Sikkim Rs 3000 crore.

Making a brief presentation, Dr Somaiya said they were shocked at the brazen manner in which some of the North Eastern State Governments have blatantly flouted norms to favour close relatives and fellow partymen. If Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Dorjee Khandu had allegedly given contract to his wife, Chief Ministers of Manipur, O Ibobi Singh and Sikkim, Pawan Chamling had given contracts to their sons.

If Dr Somaiya is to be believed, Arunachal Pradesh takes the cake, as hydro power projects have been allocated to companies in gross violation of rules and norms. A Mumbai-based travel agency has been given hydro power projects worth Rs 2400 crore. The company has its peon as one of the directors, he alleged, displaying a photograph of the one-room travel agency.

Manipur Government awarded a contract worth Rs 224 crore to a firm K Pro Infra Works Private Limited to clean up Loktak Lake, a Planning Commission sanctioned project. The Company was registered in 2009 and the same year it got the contract, Dr Somaiya alleged.

Reporting about Assam, the CAG�s Report Number Five on �Internal Controls and Risk Management� for the year ended March 31, 2010, was quoted. The CAG conducted test check of 15 departments and an audit analysis revealed serious inadequacies impacting the financial discipline in the departments.

�Assam has earned the dubious distinction of being the most corrupt State in the country, on the basis of corruption in 11 vital services in a study conducted jointly by Transparency International and Centre for Media Study,� the report alleged.

�The Gogoi Government has been the most corrupt State Government in the country. The nine-year Congress rule in Assam has been full of financial scams,� it was further alleged.

To bring people�s confidence in governance, the BJP demands that the Assam government be dismissed immediately and a CBI inquiry be instituted to probe the massive loot going on in Assam and the North-east, the report stressed.

The report referred to irregularities in various State Government departments. At least 23 cases of embezzlement involving Rs4.53 crore were detected in 19 offices under seven departments and reported to the State Government during the period from September 2008 to April 2010 through Inspection Reports.

Dr Somaiya said they travelled to the States and visited some of the project locations to verify.

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