The Rs 1,000 crore North Cachar (NC) Hills financial scam has heated up the political atmosphere in Assam ahead of the upcoming Assembly election.
Though, of late, chief minister Tarun Gogoi is in a damage control mode, and assures bringing to book the perpetrators of the scam, there are not many buyers of his sudden conviction.
"I don't say there hasn't been any corruption in NC Hills. The CBI is probing it and we have given the CBI the liberty to probe more departments. If a single evidence is found against any of my cabinet ministers, I will drop him or her immediately," said Gogoi at a press conference.
Gogoi further added that no chargesheeted member would be given party ticket in the Assembly polls.
On the other hand, the main opposition party, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), has asked for the resignation of Gogoi as they suspect his association with the scam.
“Gogoi is the finance minster and also the home minster, which makes us to suspect if he too was involved in the scam. Else, why can't he drop the scam-tainted seven ministers from his government," said Prafulla Mahanta, leader of the Opposition.
Mahanta demanded imposition of financial emergency in Assam citing lack of confidence in the present government in handling the finances of the state.
A recent special audit report by the AG had testified financial irregularity and said that funds in excess of budgetary allocations had been sent to the NCHAC in 2007-08 to June 2009. The report, however, had been suppressed by the government for many weeks, raising question on sincerity of the government in probing the scam.
After the special audit, the chief minster had directed the chief secretary to conduct an internal enquiry into the NC Hills scam, which found that though money in excess to budgetary allocations had been sent to the council, it was less than what the AG had found in his report.