GUWAHATI
A former Meghalaya Chief Minister has accused his successor Conrad K. Sangma of maintaining links with a drug kingpin from Mizoram.
Mukul M. Sangma, a senior Trinamool Congress MLA, also told the 60-member State Assembly that the Chief Minister’s Office arranged the entry of Mizoram-based Henry Lalremsanga into a high-profile event in New Delhi.
Lalremsanga was arrested in March for possessing banned pseudoephedrine tablets worth ₹6 crore. He was arrested along with Arvind Ahuja, the son of a former MLA.
Taking part in a motion on the menace of drugs and substance abuse in Meghalaya, Mr. Mukul said politicians have to be careful about who they meet and travel with as such people might take advantage of their “association with us”.
Reading out a piece of news on the arrest of Lalremsanga and the others in the House on September 19, he said: “It was more disturbing when I came across another vital information that said he is one of the close associates of our Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma,” he said.
Mr. Mukul, who was the Chief Minister for almost eight years, fished out a photograph showing the current Chief Minister, his wife and Lalremsanga at a “very high-profile programme” in New Delhi.
Mr. Conrad trashed the allegation and said it was ridiculous to jump the gun based on a photograph where two persons are seen together.
“Members of the House are public figures and they often meet, sit, and click pictures with millions of people. Forming an opinion on the basis of a photograph is the most illogical conclusion that anybody can jump to,” he said.
