GUWAHATI: The Enforcement Directorate’s summons to five persons in Nagaland, believed to be close confidants of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act has raised a political storm in the otherwise politically-dull state where the BJP is a key component of the ruling coalition.
One of the persons to have received the summons is Rio’s personal assistant in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
Stating that it is nothing less than a direct indictment of the CM himself, opposition Rising People’s Party (RPP) asked him to clear the air.
According to the RPP, of the five individuals, at least two have CBI cases pending against them since 2019.
The party said the biggest shocker was that Kuovisieo Rio, appointed in the CMO as the personal assistant to Rio, was one of the five persons summoned to appear before the ED in Guwahati.
“Interestingly, all the summoned persons – Kuovisieo Rio, Mengutuo Rio, Dsesevi Pielie, Vibeilietuo Kets and Mhalelie Rio, have given their addresses as Sovima village, Dimapur,” the RPP said.
The party also said that apart from Kuovisieo Rio, the remaining four others were believed to be close confidants of the CM.
“It’s incumbent upon the CM to clear the air regarding the money laundering case. The ED summon letter was issued on February 24 of this year but the deafening silence of the CM and the CMO in this matter till now is a story in itself,” the RPP said.
The party demanded that the CM publicly address the issue in order to put to rest all speculations.
The five persons had approached the Kohima bench of Gauhati High Court, pleading the court to declare the money laundering case filed against them as “void, non-operative” but the court rejected their plea.
The RPP requested the ED to pursue the case to its logical end based on available facts.
“This summon is a first in the history of the state and the harried general public reeling under blatant corruption is beginning to believe that the long arm of the law will finally prevail. The charge of ED being used as a ‘political weapon’ by the ruling government at the Centre should not surface in this case,” the RPP demanded.