ITANAGAR, 10 Aug: The Congress party in the state on Monday demanded that Chief Minister Pema Khandu resign on moral grounds until the completion of the Supreme Court-directed CBI enquiry into the alleged irregularities in public works contracts worth approximately Rs 1,270 crore awarded to firms allegedly linked to the chief minister's relatives.

In a press statement, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) said that the demand is to ensure public confidence in the integrity and independence of the investigation, after the CBI alleged non-cooperation by the state government.

According to the APCC, the CBI in its status report submitted before the Supreme Court alleged non-cooperation by the state government in providing necessary records and materials required for the enquiry.

The party said the SC, taking note of the CBI's status report dated 17 July, has directed the state's chief secretary and the home principal secretary to appear before the court on 24 August to explain the alleged non-cooperation.

Stating that the CBI's reported allegation of non-cooperation is extremely serious, the party said: "The state government cannot treat a Supreme Court-directed investigation as an ordinary administrative exercise. Every department, every officer and every authority concerned has a constitutional and legal responsibility to cooperate fully and without reservation."

It said that the chief minister has publicly welcomed the SC's directions and assured the people of the state that he would fully cooperate with the CBI and that the enquiry would ultimately establish the truth.

"However, the recent developments before the Supreme Court have cast serious doubts over those assurances. The people of Arunachal Pradesh have every right to ask whether the state government has fulfilled its commitment to extend complete and unconditional cooperation to the investigating agency," it said.

The party asked the government why the issue of alleged non-cooperation reached the Supreme Court despite the CM's public assurance of full cooperation.

It further sought to know why the CBI found it necessary to bring the matter of non-cooperation before the SC and whether all documents, records and files sought by the CBI had been handed over without exception.

The APCC said that if any documents remain pending, the government should clarify the reasons for the delay. It further demanded to know what steps the government had taken to ensure that no relevant record is altered, withheld, misplaced or destroyed, and questioned why the people should believe that the government is fully cooperating when the matter has become a subject of concern before the SC itself.

The APCC demanded a free, fair, transparent and time-bound enquiry without political or executive interference, and production of all records, files, tender documents, work orders, payment records, approvals and related documents sought by the investigating agency.

It also demanded preservation and protection of all physical and digital records connected with the contracts under enquiry and sought a public status report from the state government detailing the extent of cooperation extended to the CBI.

The APCC said the government must come clean before the people and demonstrate beyond doubt that it has fully complied with the directions of the Supreme Court and cooperated with the CBI without reservation.

"Let the CBI investigate without obstruction. Let every record be produced. Let the truth emerge before the people of Arunachal Pradesh," the party said, adding that "the people of Arunachal Pradesh deserve answers."