Congress questions continuance of Arunachal CM after SC-ordered CBI probe

The Congress on Tuesday, May 19, questioned why Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu continues to remain in office despite the Supreme Court directing the CBI to initiate a probe into allegations of corruption against him.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, termed the situation a “gross travesty” of the Supreme Court’s order and asked why the chief minister had not been asked to step down.

Ramesh referred to the April 6 order of the apex court directing the Central Bureau of Investigation to begin a preliminary inquiry into allegations that contracts worth Rs 1,270 crore were awarded over a decade to firms allegedly owned by or linked to members of Khandu’s family.

“This is not an order of a lower court or a High Court. It is of the Supreme Court. Yet the CM continues in office. He is also the PWD Minister and controls the files that the CBI will need to conduct its inquiry,” Ramesh said.

He also took an apparent swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking why the leader who once said “na khaoonga, na khaane doonga” was silent on the issue.

“There are other BJP CMs as well who fall in the category of the Arunachal Pradesh CM,” Ramesh added.
 

On April 6, the Supreme Court directed the CBI to register a preliminary inquiry within two weeks into allegations of preferential allotment of public works contracts in Arunachal Pradesh to firms allegedly linked to Khandu’s family members.

The bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath observed that the State and its instrumentalities could not confer benefits based on the “whims of any political or administrative functionary”.

Stating that the matter involved allegations of conflict of interest at the “highest levels”, the apex court said it was a fit case for an independent investigation and stressed that such an inquiry must not only be fair but also appear fair.