SHILLONG, July 4?Stung by the charges of extortion levelled by the Meghalaya Government, the Khasi Students? Union (KSU) and the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) today hit back at Chief Minister Dr F A Khonglam and Deputy Chief Minister accusing them of amassing assets and properties worth crores of rupees. KSU president Samuel Jyrwa and KHNAM president Paul Lyngdoh strongly refuted the charges terming it as ?a pack of lies and innuendos?. They demanded ?the Government must substantiate the allegations. The charges are all baseless and without any grain of truth.?
Addressing a Press conference here barely 24 hours after the Meghalaya Cabinet accused the KSU and KHNAM of extorting businessmen, traders and others, specially the non-tribals, the two organisations demanded a CBI enquiry into all corruption charges against the Council of Ministers and bureaucrats and dared the Government to institute a probe into the assets and properties of KSU and KHNAM leaders. Claiming that the ?growing popularity? of the party has given sleepless nights to the Government, Paul Lyngdoh feared that the ruling coalition might misuse their power and authority during the coming Assembly polls.
We demand that President?s Rule be imposed in Meghalaya besides proper monitoring during the polls to ensure a free and fair poll?, the KSU and KHNAM leaders said. Denying the charge that the KSU was anti-non-tribal, Jyrwa said ?the Union has only replaced non-tribals who have been in business for years with unemployed Khasi youths.? A written statement issued to the Press detailed a long list of corruption cases against Dr Khonglam and Lapang besides properties in the form of land, buildings, flats, vehicles, etc. The statement alleged that the Chief Minister owned a flat at Bangalore besides landed property in various places in Shillong and other places. Dr Khonglam is also indulging in ?benami? business, it alleged.