KL Report
SRINAGAR
Erstwhile Congress minister, G M Saroori who was acquitted by the State Accountability Commission (SAC) in an old case, Thursday alleged that he was accused of irregularities that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had committed while holding the Roads and Buildings portfolio. Saroori was given a clean chit by SAC on Wednesday.
“In fact it was the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah himself holding the charge and running the affairs,” a statement issued said.
The statement further asserted that in his defense Saroori ‘revealed the facts’ to the commission by saying that according to the orders attached with few papers during the months of April, May & June 2009 the information sought during the period, but, he was not holding the charge of PWD /R&B Department at that time.
“In front of the commission‘s full bench comprised of justice Hakim Imtiaz and Justice Nargotra, Saroori’s advocate Tahir Shamsi put the arguments with authority by revealing that the enquiry period was being held by Chief Minister Jammu and Kashmir by himself so either he should be summoned for answering or the case should be dismissed immediately,” it added.
Pertinently, it was alleged that during his Minister ship near about two thousand works were allotted without tendering. One person namely Mushtaq Ahmed resident of Srinagar alleged that the former minster sanctioned two thousand works in PWD R& B department without formal tendering upon which SAC conducted the detailed enquiry and came to the conclusion by dismissing the case completely.
The statement further said, “During the visits of chief minister to Srinagar, the department was told to execute the work at their own disposal without following the formalities like tendering.”
Saroori asserted that according to an RTI information which commission put forward the statement of an engineer said that such works were ordered by “none else than chief minister himself by asserting that sometimes such works need to execute by keeping the interest of the people and the development of the area in mind.”
The statement said that the person who put forward the complaint in SAC neither appeared in court for last one and half year nor succeeded in providing any concrete proofs to the court.
