SHILLONG, OCT 26: South Shillong legislator, Sanbor Shullai today hit hammer and tongs against a group that accused him of embezzling funds from the MLA scheme and claimed that thirty one thousands electorate in his constituency were happy for he has distributed materials which were of “good quality and useful” assets.
Denying the allegations that his political opponent, Banri Kupar Wahlang, had quoted RTI findings that Shullai has allegedly misappropriated Rs 2.52 crore from the MLA scheme, Shullai dubbed Wahlang’s group as “Political RTI Contractual Agency” that aimed at maligning him in the eye of the public when the Assembly election is approaching.
“Giving household materials are useful assets and all 31,000 electorate are happy. I don’t mind if only four people are unhappy. Not only that they are jealous but they act an enemy to the 31,000 electorate,” he told reporters while addressing a press conference here on Thursday.
Wahlang had alleged Shullai that instead of creating “useful public assets”, has procured utensils, dinner sets and other trivial items of individual use in a manner that can only be described as large scale of siphoning public money.
According to the RTI, the MLA had purchased “Healthy Serving Dinner sets” and “Multi-Purpose Health Food Sets” at a cost of Rs 50.50 lakh.
However, Shullai said that the MCIC had purchased the materials with an aim to uplift the living standards of the poor people of the constituency.
Stating that Wahlang was a candidate whom he defeated in all the elections he had contested including MDC, Shullai said, “He (Wahlang) was outrightly rejected by the people of the constituency. Since he has nothing else to do he has come out with this Political RTI Contractual Agency along with his members, who are his relatives.”
He said that the two women in Wahlang’s group – D Passah and V Marbaniang – are not his supporters but yet they and their family members are beneficiaries of the MLA scheme by claiming that they belong to the poorest of the poor in the constituency.
I am shocked to see them (Passah and Marbaniang) have left Sounder Cajee (now BJP member) and join the new agency led by Wahlang, who was an HSPDP candidate,” he added.
Terming the allegations as baseless, fabricated and politically motivated, the sitting MLA recalled that the same group had adopted the same tactic just three and a half months before the last 2013 election against him and the Monitoring-Cum-Implementation Committee (MCIC).
Wahlang had filed an FIR against Shullai for allegedly misusing the Seng Khasi “sacred flag”, which according to MLA was however set aside by a Court and even rejected by the electorate of South Shillong constituency.
“I am confident that the same thing will repeat. All these allegations will be forfeited as the wise electorate have already decided to give them a good lesson in the upcoming elections because it’s all political motivated,” he added.
Warning that little knowledge is dangerous, Shullai said as per the guidelines there is no restriction for an MLA and his MCIC to take up works and distributing materials be it to the poor, schools, sports club, puja committees, dorbar shnongs and others.
“The office of the MCIC is already on the job to submit all utilization certificates, vouchers, names of the beneficiaries of the MLA scheme by next month to the Urban Affairs department,” he said.
He claimed that the implementation of the scheme under his constituency was as per the guidelines and rules of the government.
Wahlang had earlier demanded the government to institute a high-level enquiry into the alleged misappropriation of public money and also against a firm owned by one K Lynrah from Sohra.
“The entire amount of Rs 2.52 crore was transacted in cash (instead of making payment through cheques) to a suspected bogus firm supposedly belonging to one K Lyngrah of Sohra village in East Khasi Hills District,” Wahlang had stated.
Asked, Shullai said that there is no restriction for the MLA to allot the contract to any registered government supplier because as per the guidelines, the supply work will have to be allotted to the lowest bidder.
“If he (supplier) is from Sohra or from Tura, or from Nongstoin, it doesn’t matter. To say that by giving the supply work to a firm from Sohra is diverting the MLA scheme to other constituency is false and baseless allegations which hold no water,” he added.
He urged Wahlang to properly read the guidelines for the implementation of the MLA scheme before making what he called “childish allegations” because the fact is that not a single fund has been diverted from the constituency.
By Our Reporter
+ There are no comments
Add yours