‘Vehicle carrying Rs 1.8cr belongs to BJP nominee’

Guwahati: Denying Congress’s allegation that the Rs 1.8 crore-stash seized at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh — hours before PM Narendra Modi’s rally on Wednesday — was from his convoy, Arunachal CM Pema Khandu said the vehicle from which the money was seized belonged to a BJP candidate for the upcoming assembly election.
Congress, alleging a ‘cash for vote’ scam, had implicated Khandu, deputy chief minister Chowna Mein and Arunachal BJP president Tapir Gao. “It is a false allegation. I came to know about the seizure in the morning ... Whoever this money belonged to will clarify their position before the Election Commission and the Income Tax department,” Khandu said, adding, “I have been informed that this money was seized from the vehicle of a BJP candidate.”

He further said, “Cash for vote is not BJP’s culture; it is practised by Congress.”

Arunachal’s additional chief electoral officer Kanki Darang said Rs 1 crore was found in a vehicle owned by the Christopher Perme, son of Dangi Perme, who has been fielded by BJP from the Mebo assembly constituency.

“The other Rs 80 lakh was seized from a second vehicle, registered under the name of the deputy secretary of the state transport department. A former MLA, Ralom Borang, has claimed the money was his,” Darang said. “I can’t say that these two vehicles were part of chief minister’s convoy because they were found parked in the premises of Siang Guest House (at Pasighat),” Darang added.

President of BJP’s Arunachal unit Tapir Gao also confirmed the vehicle from which Rs 1 crore was seized belongs to Perme’s son. “But the money was his own, not BJP’s. He has the documents to show it is his personal money. It does not belong to CM Pema Khandu or me, as Congress has alleged,” Gao, who is the party’s Lok Sabha candidate for the Arunachal East seat, said.

Both Christopher and Borang have reportedly written to the Election Commission. Christopher has reportedly said that part of the money found in the vehicle was what he earned from “disposal of traditional beads” in January 2019 and the rest was money borrowed from his relatives for investment in contractual work. He had kept the money aside to build two houses. Borang, too, reportedly claimed he had borrowed some of the money from his relatives and the rest was his. He added that he planned on buying property at Mariyang in Upper Siang district.