By IANS,
Shillong : Former Meghalaya speaker and Congress legislator Martin M. Danggo Tuesday said he welcomed an inquiry into the alleged corruption charges against him.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in two successive reports in as many years, has pointed to misappropriation of funds running into crores of rupees during Danggo’s tenure as speaker.
Goods worth crores of rupees allegedly went missing from the assembly secretariat during his tenure. Danggo was the speaker 2003-08.
Among the missing goods was a poultry coop for whose construction Danggo allegedly submitted a bill for Rs.11.81 lakh.
“It is up to the authority of the assembly to decide, but I welcome any sort of inquiry to probe into the CAG’s findings, even a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe,” Danggo told journalists here.
Denying any role in the alleged financial mismanagement, Danggo said: “I am not blaming anyone but it is regretted that my name has been unnecessarily and prominently featured and linked to the bungling, misappropriation and misuse of financial powers during my tenure as speaker.”
The former speaker also said that he had written to the public accounts committee (PAC) demanding a thorough probe.
The other missing goods involved in the alleged misappropriation included two 50-inch LCD TVs worth Rs.787,500, a laptop worth Rs.140,712, an air-conditioner worth Rs.192,440 and three wall fans worth Rs.23,400.
A cycling machine, a treadmill, a weight machine, a revolving chair, two dining tables and a 2857.14 sq m carpet purchased by the speaker also came under the CAG scanner.
After last year’s CAG report, the assembly referred the alleged corruption charges to the PAC.