The Home and Cultural Affairs’ Minister’s representative, Jamyang Sherab Wangdi, presented the Minister’s rebuttal on Gyalpoizhing land case, today.
In the ongoing hearings in Monggar District Court, Lyonpo Minjur Dorji’s representative, presented the statement saying the Minister had no criminal intentions and personal gains to allot the plots to a favoured few.
The statement went on to say the Minister always worked under the proper laws of the Municipal Act 1999. The Act empowers the municipal committee to allot land.
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I have always worked under the proper laws of the Municipal Act 1999.”
Lyonpo Minjur
Home Minister
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The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had accused the Minister of official misconduct for allotting the land to individuals and institutions that did not fulfill the basic criteria.
In today’s hearing, ACC was questioned on the legal standing of the case. The Minister’s representative said ACC has failed to prove the case as official misconduct.
Similarly, some of the committee members also presented their response statement to ACC’s findings. They said they had been following the directive of the committee’s Chairperson. A few of them submitted written documents to validate the Chairperson’s directive.
Some of them even said they had refused to sign the minutes of the meeting when the directive was issued.
Meanwhile, ACC also submitted its rebuttal statement to Dechen Singye, who was charged under criminal offence under the same case. He was the then secretary of the Land Allotment Committee. ACC said he should have known better as he was the technical expert and the one who kept the minutes of the meeting.
Dechen Singye is a building inspector.
ACC will submit its rebuttal to the Home Minister’s statement on the Gyalpoizhing land case on January 9.