AIZAWL: Mizoram's main opposition party Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) has urged Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati to disqualify Sports minister Robert Romawia Royte for allegedly holding 'office of profit'.
The ZPM alleged that Royte owned a consultancy firm that worked on several contracts under the state government in violation of Representation of People (RP) Act.
The party general secretary SL Ngursailova Sailo said that a petition seeking the disqualification of Royte, who also holds Tourism, Information and Communication Technology portfolios, was submitted to Governor on Tuesday.
The petition submitted to the governor alleged that Royte, the sole owner of North East Consultancy Services (NECS), has been running his firm and regularly paid Goods and Service Tax even after he was elected to the state legislature in 2018.
Royte refused to comment on the issue.
The petition alleged that the firm entered into subsisting contract with the government by executing 'deed of agreement' with the state District Council and Minority Affairs department in June 2022 for execution of works under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram(PMJVK) scheme for two years, which contravened section 9A of the RP Act.
The agreement was carried out through 'single source selection' in violation of the Mizoram Transparency in Public Procurement Act, 2008 and the Mizoram Public Procurement Rules, 2020, it said.
Royte has concealed in his affidavit about the ongoing projects undertaken by his firm at the time of filing nomination in 2018 and the NECS has been executing various projects since it was approved as empaneled firm by the state government in September 2022, it alleged.
"Seeking and receiving monetary benefits by the minister through his firm is not only 'conflict of interest', but also misuse of power and a breach of people's trust," the petition alleged.
The actions taken by Royte was illegal and arbitrary that violated the RP Act and rendered him to be liable to be disqualified as legislator, it alleged.