Congress seeks Kiren Rijiju’s resignation over Rs 450 crore Arunachal power ‘scam’

NEW DELHI: Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju found himself in the midst of a political controversy with Congress demanding his resignation over allegations that he intervened on behalf of a contractor allegedly related to him for payments in a power project in Arunachal Pradesh. Congress said Rijiju be sacked for his involvement in a "Rs 450 crore Arunachal power scam" in the wake of a vigilance report indicting his cousin and a letter written by the minister batting for the contractor. Congress played an audio tape allegedly featuring the minister's cousin Goboi Rijiju and chief vigilance officer Satish Verma in which Goboi tries to lobby for payments stopped due to irregularities. Rijiju denied Goboi was a blood relation and said the contracts related to Congress's tenure in office in the state and he had written about the dues as villagers who worked on the project had approached him. The issue could figure in Parliament though the opposition is likely to maintain the focus on demonetisation. Congress pointed to reports that the sub-contractor for a power project of NEEPCO had issued inflated bills and also claimed money for tasks not done. While Goboi lobbied with the CVO, Rijiju wrote to power minister Piyush Goyal seeking release of payments. Later on Tuesday, the power ministry also issued a detailed statement disputing the report and pointing to Verma's contentious record. BJP also attacked Verma as a "friend" of Congress for his confrontations with the Gujarat government over the Ishrat Jahan encounter case which took place when PM Narendra Modi was chief minister of the state. Verma, as part of an SIT, had said the encounter was staged and questioned Ishrat being a Lashkar terror operative. Congress, however, said the audio tape mentioning the minister's name was clinching evidence that Goboi was working on Rijiju's behalf. Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala said, "The role of Kiren Rijiju in this issue is under cloud. He 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."