Shillong, Oct 13: NPP leader and cabinet minister James K Sangma on Wednesday insisted that the opposition AITC national spokesperson Saket Gokhale should do his homework properly before making allegations about the smart meter project.
“The spokesperson of a political party has every right to criticize but then again we have a responsibility to the public not to just cry wolf all the time but to do their homework and know what it is to bring an informed comments in front of the public…that is something a responsible person would do and I again urge him (Gokhale) to do his due diligence,” Sangma told reporters.
This came a day after Gokhale had sent a letter requesting the minister to explain how there was a Chinese Inhemeter’s Smart Meter installed at his residence in February 2021 when the Deputy CM claimed in July 2022 that these meters are yet to be approved by REC/Govt of India?
Sangma, however, said Gokhale is not aware that there was an inquiry committee headed by a retired Justice of the High Court constituted by the state government and it has submitted its report into the matter.
“The report has apparently said that there is nothing untoward in the smart meter project. So again I feel that Gokhale is not doing proper homework when it comes to all these things. He should read up on what were the kinds of issues, what were the actions were taken and what the outcomes of these actions were taken by the government,” he added.
On the allegation of fabricated facts, Sangma said, “It is very easy to criticize anybody. I mean for Gokhale to say all these things must be based on facts and if he does have those facts please bring them forward and we will respond to that if there is any merit to it and if it does not merit then I think it becomes a waste of time. So if there is any merit to whatever you want to bring forth, yes, I’ll be happy to respond to that.”
Meanwhile, the NPP leader also reiterated that the party knows its responsibilities when reacting to Gokhale’s allegation that it has failed to submit the election expenditures to the Election Commission of India.
“I have already mentioned and like to repeat here that as a party we know our responsibilities, we have very senior leaders who lead this party. And those leaders and the party organization, we know what our responsibilities are, what are the compliances that need to be met not just by the election commission but by any other agency. So we are meeting those compliances. Again I feel it is very irresponsible on the part of Gokhale to just say things in the air,” he stated.
