Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 25 Jul: Denying the allegation of irregularities and anomalies under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), levelled by NGO Arunachal Against Corruption (AAC), Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday said that the allegation is aimed at tarnishing his government’s image.
Interacting with media persons in New Delhi on Monday, Khandu said, “The allegation levelled against the government over the DDUGJY recently is to tarnish the government’s image. You all know that the BJP government has zero tolerance approach towards corruption.”
The CM appealed to the media persons to report responsibly and avoid one-sided stories.
“In my few interviews I have appealed to the media persons not to report one-sided stories. Whether allegations are true or not, media persons should verify on the ground,” he said.
“Whether there were anomalies in tendering process or work execution, it is also a responsibility of the media to bring out the truth,” the CM said.
He claimed that “all works were completed and completion certificates were also issued.”
“The works were all done and completed. The allegation is just to tarnish the government’s image,” he repeated.
Meanwhile, AAC submitted a memorandum to the governor on Monday, alleging “multi-crore corruption in various government schemes.”
Members of AAC are staging a weeklong sit-in protest at the IG Park tennis court, demanding the chief minister’s resignation over corruption charges against him.
The NGO has accused Khandu of being involved in “multi-crore scams in various departments, including the Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana scam worth Rs 68 crore for mismanagement of 24,800 mt of free rice; power scam worth Rs 142 crore under the DDUGJY fund; panchayat raj scam worth Rs 889 crore; department of mining & minerals scams worth Rs 32 crore as state revenue or royalty; gross misuse of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority fund worth Rs 588.40 crore; hydropower scam worth Rs 1,400 crore, along with Rs 820 crore liabilities.”
The NGO has sought a CBI probe into the alleged scams.
