Allegations of corruption ‘politically motivated’: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu

A Correspondent

ITANAGAR: Chief Minister Pema Khandu, on Friday, said that the allegations of corruption and the financial mismanagement case filed against him in the Supreme Court is virtuously ‘politically motivated’. 

Khandu said that the case is from the year 2010, and has already been won in the Gauhati High court, double bench. The effort was to dispose of the case but due to the already numerous cases pending in the SC, it got delayed.

“However, now that the case has been taken on the fast track, soon the case will also be disposed of in the SC. The entire allegations are fake, politically motivated and not substantial,” he added.

Subsequently, he also refuted the allegations of corruption levelled by the Arunachal Against Corruption (AAC).

Khandu’s response came following the notice served to him by a bench of chief justice, SC, on a plea filed by NGOs, Save Mon Region Federation (SMRF) and Voluntary Arunachal Sena (VAS).

The SMRF and VAS in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the SC, sought CBI and SIT probe into the award of contracts for public works to firms owned by family members of CM Khandu. The notice was also issued to the Union of India, state government of Arunachal Pradesh, the CBI, and others.

According to the plea, Pema Khandu’s father, Dorjee Khandu’s second wife, Rinchin Drema, and his nephew Tsering Tashi have been made parties in the case. It also claimed that Rinchin Drema’s firm, Brand Eagles, has been awarded a large number of government contracts despite there being a clear conflict of interest.

The petition said that works for flood damage restoration are allotted by the state’s relief & rehabilitation department. The minister of the department was Dorjee Khandu, also former CM, and then the charge was taken up by the present state CM and his son Pema Khandu.

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