Kohima, Sept 13: The Rising People’s Party (RPP) on Thursday urged Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio to remove Higher Education Minister and state BJP president, Temjen Imna Along, from his position due to an ongoing Rs. 125 crore fraud case in the Bombay High Court. The RPP stressed the seriousness of the allegations, which have gained national attention, and criticized Along for downplaying the charges as a “normal business dispute.”
In its statement, the RPP condemned Along’s remarks, describing them as trivializing the gravity of the situation. The party also criticized the state BJP for not addressing the issue, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Corruption-free India” campaign, and argued that the BJP should have been the first to advise Rio to take action.
Temjen Imna Along responded by clarifying that the case relates to a business dispute that occurred before he took office in the government. He noted that the case is currently under investigation by the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), and expressed hope that it would be resolved in court.
The RPP also welcomed recent actions by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has attached properties of two Naga contractors involved in the construction of the new Kohima High Court complex. They urged the ED to pursue the case involving 10 Public Works Department (PWD) engineers and six contractors. Additionally, the RPP called on Chief Minister Rio to grant prosecution sanction to the CBI regarding the involvement of PWD officials, suggesting that political concerns might be delaying action.
