Rio withdrew huge sums of money, says Congress

Imkong hinted that the Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) would use this money during the elections. “It is a huge sum of money for a small state like Nagaland,” the Congress leader said, alleging that the money was sanctioned in advance for supply of PDS items till April this year. “There were more illegal transactions… we want a thorough investigation into these,” Imkong said.

The Congress party also denied having a hand in imposition of Presidents’ Rule in Nagaland. “We had never made any demand for imposition of President’s Rule. What we sought was dismissal of the DAN Government on the ground that it had lost its majority in the Assembly,” said the veteran Congress leader, who is aspiring to become chief minister in the event of the party winning the ensuing elections.

“It is Rio who is responsible for imposition of Central rule in the state. Had Rio stepped down honourably after losing the trust vote on December 13, there would have been no President’s Rule,” he said.

Imkong reiterated that he was ready to stake claim to form a popular Government if the Governor invited him to do so. “I am even ready to stake claim to form the Government, and also prepared to take a floor test,” Imkong said.

But Rio refuted Imkong’s allegations and said there was “enough proof” that the Congress demanded and got President’s Rule imposed in the state. “If Congress was not behind it, then why did the Prime Minister call an unscheduled Cabinet meeting to recommend Central rule in the state? Didn’t the Cabinet constitute a sub-committee comprising Pranab Mukherjee, AK Antony and Shivraj Patil which recommended President’s Rule so that the UPA partners could be bypassed?” Rio asked.

The Assembly election in Nagaland is due by the last week of February and a formal notification by the Election Commission is expected within a couple of days. “The Congress party has once again proved its hunger for power by still staking claim to form a Government,” Rio said.