Cong, AAP demand Rijiju’s ouster over ‘power scam’

The Congress  and Aam Admi Party on Tuesday demanded the sacking of Union Minister Kiren Rijiju alleging his “involvement” in the ‘Rs 450-crore Arunachal power scam’ and said the Prime Minister’s “tall claims” of bringing transparency have “fallen flat”.

Stating that Rijiju’s role in the matter is under cloud, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also released an audio tape of a purported conversation of his cousin, a contractor in the 600 MW power project, and Rijiju’s letter recommending that held up payments be released.

“The role of Kiren Rijiju in this issue is under cloud. Kiren Rijiju has no right to stay in office. He should either be dismissed by the Prime Minister or asked to resign till an independent probe is complete,” he told reporters.

Surjewala trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying his “tall claims” of bringing transparency have “fallen flat” as had happened with several other scandals in the past including Vyapam, Lalitgate and the Vijay Mallya issue.

“Mr Modi’s claims of transparency and honesty is now under question. People of India are looking at what action he takes on this issue,” he said.

Payments were stopped after a letter by the Chief Vigilance Officer of North East Power Corporation (NEPCO), who conducted a probe into the issue, the Congress spokesperson said and alleged that there is a scam to the extent of Rs 450 crore in the form of false and inflated transportation bills by Goboi Rijiju, who is said to be a relative of Kiren Rijiju.

“This is a very serious issue. The Prime Minister should speak out on this issue.... “If PM has courage of conviction, he must either sack Kiren Rijiju or ask him to resign and conduct a fair and free probe so that truth comes out...Till then, Rijiju should be divested of his post.”

Surjewala also played out a purported audio conversation between Goboi and the NEPCO Chief Vigilance Officer Satish Verma and the opposition party claimed it also had a mention of the goings on that led to pulling down of the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.

He claimed Rijiju’s brother was clearly attempting to influence the CVO in the 28-minute tape and was using his Minister brother’s name to seek his help in getting the bills cleared and was also enticing him with a promotion.

Aam Aadmi Party also demanded Rijuju’s resignation.

Quoting newspaper reports, AAP leader Ashish Khetan accused Rijiju of using his influence as a Minister to help his cousin in the “Rs 450 crore scam”.

“This is a serious matter. Rijiju has no right to remain a Minister after being exposed in this scam. He should immediately resign from his post,” Khetan said.

The AAP leader also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an independent probe into the alleged scam.