Is Congress trying to escape demonetisation debate by raising Kiren Rijiju issue in Parliament?

The Opposition parties decided in a meeting on Wednesday morning that they would raise the issue of Kiren Rijiju being accused in the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) hydel-project scam in Parliament, in what looks like another ploy by the Congress and its allies to not let Parliament function, or even avoid the demonetisation debate in both Houses of the legislature.

The Congress has already demanded Rijiju's resignation in this regard, with the minister of state for home affairs hitting back at the allegations, calling them "baseless". The ministry of power also explained in a statement why these allegations are false, enclosing as proof official letters that show Rijiju was not involved in the irregularities.

What the Congress has alleged
The Congress on Tuesday accused Rijiju of corruption after his cousin, Goboi Rijiju — a contractor by profession — and other officials of the state-run NEEPCO, including its chairman and managing director, were named in a report on graft by the project's chief vigilance officer.

The party played an audio clip at a news conference, saying Rijiju was under suspicion for corruption and fraud related to the hydro-electric project in Arunachal Pradesh. The Congress then went on to demand Rijiju's resignation from the minister's post.

The BJP and the government's reply
Given that the Congress' primary allegation is that Rijiju indulged in monetary irregularities and misused his position as Union minister, the ministry of power clarified in a statement how majority of the money was paid to daily wage workers through the contractor, and that the payments had little to do with Rijiju.

The BJP, in a statement, added: "The entire contract works for the main project and for transportation of boulders were allotted when the Congress party was in power [in 2004 and 2012]. The Congress party is incriminating itself by referring to any irregularities in these projects."

The waste of time
On Wednesday morning, after the meeting of the Opposition parties, Congress leader Anand Sharma gave notice in the Rajya Sabha under Rule 267 for discussion on the issue, which could stall Parliament again.