Shillong, Sept 7: Former BJP legislator HM Shangpliang has accused state BJP president Ernest Mawrie for preventing a government assignment meant for him facilitated by cabinet minister AL Hek.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Shangpliang said the BJP state president had stopped Hek from sending a letter to the chief minister for recommending his name besides that of M Kharkrang for some assignments.
“By stating that we are new comers, Mawrie wanted his own name to be recommended to the CM”, Shangpliang said.
He said the post of advisor to the education department was offered to him by the chief minister Conrad K Sangma and deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong.
“The post of advisor to the education department was offered to me by the chief minister Conrad K Sangma and deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong. These two gentlemen called me one day and said have you been given any post? I said no. Then they said you can collect your appointment letter tomorrow,” Shangpliang told reporters.
Shangpliang had requested Mawrie to send the names of four ex-MLAs and former IPS officer to the chief minister with recommendations for some assignments but he failed to do so.
“More shockingly, when I got this appointment of advisor, Hek called me and said please come over to my room and I went to his room and Hek congratulated me or rather asked me how you got your appointment, who recommended you, I said I got it from the chief minister directly,” he said.
Shangpliang said Hek revealed that Mawrie had asked him to stop sending the letter recommending the names of Shangpliang and Kharkrang to the CM.
“Hek revealed something shocking…that Hek had already recommended my name and Kharkrang’s name in the DO letter for an assignment and that letter was addressed to the chief minister. As a matter of courtesy, Hek called up Mawrie saying I am sending one letter to the CM recommending two names – Shangpliang and Kharkrang – for some assignments. Mawrie said please hold on, I am coming to your room. Mawrie goes to Hek’s room and tells him to tear away that recommendation letter saying how could you do this as these two people have just joined the party yesterday, please recommend my name. You can ask Hek if you want to verify all these. Then Hek had to comply with the request of the party president and tore away that letter and rather recommended Mawrie’s name,” he said.
“How could you betray? This is treachery, this is betrayal. When I kept requesting him to give a recommendation for five of us to the chief minister for some posts, he rather goes from the backdoor and asked Hek to tear away that kind of recommendation and rather want his name to be recommended. Now it is up to Mawrie and Hek to clarify that as this is what Hek told me,” Shangpliang said.
