Shillong, April 5: The National People’s Party has taken strong objection to the alleged attempt at discrediting itys National President and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and the party over an incident that occurred in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday in which an unregistered vehicle trailing the chief minister’s convoy was flagged down at a checkpost and searched leading to the recovery of approximately Rs 1.25 crore.
The incident took place at Kanubari checkpost in Longding where the chief minister was headed to campaign for the NPP candidate ahead of the April 19th elections to Arunachal Pradesh Assembly polls simultaneously with the first phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections.
Issuing a clarification on the incident, NPP Spokesperson H M Shangpliang said that the detained vehicle was not part of the chief minister’s convoy.
“We categorically state that the vehicle in question was not part of our convoy, which was certified officially by the SP of the Longding area. Secondly, our convoy, including the vehicles carrying our National President, underwent standard security checks as per the protocols established during the election code of conduct. No irregularities were detected during these procedures,” stated the NPP spokesperson.
He added that during the checking of vehicles at Kanubari check gate by the FST, SST and police, even the vehicle of the chief minister and the entire team, including the police escort vehicles were also checked and given a clean chit.
“We were not aware of the incident involving the aforementioned vehicle until it was reported in the media. Our party was blindsided by the news, and any attempt to link this incident with our National President is baseless and without merit,” stated the NPP spokesperson.
