When a Chief Minister publicly promises full cooperation with a federal investigation — and then the Supreme Court has to summon his top officials — something has clearly gone very wrong.
That’s exactly the situation unfolding in Arunachal Pradesh right now. The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) came out swinging on Monday, August 10, demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Minister Pema Khandu on moral grounds. Their charge? That the state government has been dragging its feet — and possibly worse — in cooperating with a Supreme Court-directed CBI preliminary inquiry.
The Rs 1,270 Crore Question
At the heart of it all is a CBI probe into public works contracts worth approximately Rs 1,270 crore, which were allegedly awarded to firms with direct links to Khandu’s relatives. These are serious allegations, and the numbers are staggering. APCC working president Tanga Byaling did not hold back, claiming the state administration has been “reluctant” to assist the central agency — a charge that carries particular sting given the scale of the alleged irregularities. When that kind of money is involved, reluctance starts looking a lot like obstruction.
Supreme Court Steps In
Things escalated sharply when the Supreme Court reportedly summoned Arunachal Pradesh’s Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary (Home), after the CBI itself submitted reports flagging the state government’s alleged non-cooperation. Think about that for a moment — the CBI had to go to the country’s top court just to get the state to do what it was supposed to be doing anyway. That’s not a minor administrative hiccup. That’s a constitutional red flag.
Khandu’s April Promise — Now Under Scrutiny
Congress didn’t let one particularly inconvenient fact slide. Back on April 6, Khandu had publicly welcomed the CBI inquiry and assured everyone that the state government would offer its complete cooperation. That statement is now being held up against the Supreme Court’s intervention like a mirror. The APCC asked the obvious question — why was judicial arm-twisting needed if cooperation was always on the table?
Demands Go Beyond Resignation
The party’s call for Khandu’s resignation is just the headline demand. Behind it lies a list of serious concerns — administrative reshuffles and transfers of officials from departments whose records fall within the CBI inquiry, and fears that files, work orders, or digital records may be altered or destroyed before investigators can access them. The APCC is urging the government to hand over all documents sought by the CBI, publish a transparency report on its cooperation, and ensure protection for whistleblowers and officials who are assisting the probe.
As of Monday evening, the Arunachal Pradesh government had not responded to any of the allegations. That silence, in a situation like this, speaks volumes. Arunachal deserves answers — not another press conference with promises that may age just as poorly as the ones made in April.
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