Cong hits out at Khandu over 'money-minting' jibe

Itanagar: The Congress on Tuesday hit out at Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu over his statement that the previous Congress governments at the Centre had treated Northeast as a “money-minting machine”.

Terming the chief minister’s statement as “one of the best jokes of the decade”, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) reminded Khandu that his father Dorjee Khandu had become a panchayat leader and later the chief minister of the state on a Congress ticket.

The chief minister had made the statement at a party meeting in East Siang district on February 29.

“Khandu’s statement shows his insensitivity towards the Congress which groomed him to what he is today from a simple businessman.

“Moreover, it is regrettable that he has been parroting the tone of the RSS, which has been remotely controlling the BJP-led government at the Centre,” APCC spokesperson Chera Taya said in a statement here.

Taya questioned why was no new scheme sanctioned for Arunachal Pradesh if the Centre was concerned about the development of the state.

“It is needless to mention that Holongi greenfield airport, Trans-Arunachal Highway, railway link to Naharlagun and Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Science were sanctioned during UPA-2 regime led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,” the statement said.