IMPHAL, January 10: BJP Manipur Pradesh president Th Chaoba today alleged Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh’s involvement in contract works of the structures which developed cracks and suffered damages during the January 4 early morning earthquake and questioned if it wasn’t the case, why has the Chief Minister failed to inspect the structures till date.
Speaking to media persons at the party office today, he said the Congress has always bragged about its achievements which includes construction and inauguration of public buildings during its last 14 years of rule in the State.
However, although many of the buildings/ structures suffered damages during the recent natural calamity, the government and the State cabinet is yet to take any decision to constitute a probe into the damages incurred, he said pointing out that the Ima Market building which is not even five years old was among those many damaged.
PWD Minister Ratankumar had clarified a few days after the quake that the State PWD is not responsible for the damage of the market building and had held the NBCC for the construction of the building, he observed.
However, the main question is who invited the work agency, and how all government building constructions were awarded to only one company namely Simplex, he demanded.
The loss suffered is by the public, he said before claiming that the damages suffered were only because of the failure to maintain quality during the construction.
Unfortunately, the Chief Minister is yet to make any visit to the damaged building, while experts from outside the State as well as Union Ministers including Forest and DoNER have already visited the market building, he observed.
This has raised suspicions as to whether the Chief Minister was involved and had shared the benefits from the contract works for the construction of the damaged structures, he noted.
Chaoba continued to attack the Congress and said the Chief Minister’s and the Deputy Chief Minister’s claims that the BJP was spreading false propaganda regarding the party among the public was baseless.
He said the Congress was not a political party, but just a platform for the freedom movement and that mahatma Gandhi had never accepted turning it into a political party.
As for the popularity of the two parties in the country, he said the results of the Chandigarh local civic body election has been announced with BJP winning 15 seats and the Congress winning only eight out of the total 25 seats. The remaining went to Independents, he added.
Tomorrow after the local body polls are conducted in the State, it will all be made clear that the Congress is already half-dead, he claimed.
He said that the Congress MLAs are suffering under incompetent leadership and it is certain that Congress MLAs will float a new political party before the next State general assembly election, while some would join the BJP.
Today’s press meet was also attended by BJP Manipur general secretary (Media) L Bashanta Sharma, former president Sh Shantikumar among others.