Aizawl: Mizoram sports minister Robert Romawia Royte on Monday denied the allegation that he was holding ‘office of profit.’
Addressing a function at the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) office here, Royte, also the party adviser, said there is nothing to fear about a petition seeking his disqualification unless it is related to laws unknown to him.
He claimed that he had proper documents to prove that he did not own a firm and hold an ‘office of profit.’
“I have proper documents and substantial proof. It is a personal matter. There is nothing to fear about it (petition) unless it is related to laws unknown to me,” Royte said, adding that he is yet to receive a copy of the petition from the authority concerned.
Earlier, the minister had told reporters that he had transferred the ownership of his consultancy firm to his son soon after being elected to the state assembly.
Royte said that the petition filed by the opposition Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), which sought his disqualification for allegedly holding an office of profit, might adversely affect the party (ZPM)’s prospects.
On February 28, the ZPM filed a petition urging the governor to disqualify Royte for allegedly holding an ‘office of profit’ by owning a consultancy firm that worked on several contracts under the state government in violation of the Representation of People (RP) Act.
The ZPM had alleged in its petition that Royte, the sole owner of North East Consultancy Services (NECS), has been running his firm and regularly paid Goods and Service Tax even after he was elected to the state legislature in 2018.
The petition alleged that the firm entered into a subsisting contract with the government by executing the ‘deed of agreement’ with the state District Council and Minority Affairs department in June 2022 for the execution of works under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram(PMJVK) scheme for two years, which contravened section 9A of the RP Act.
The agreement was carried out through ‘single source selection’ in violation of the Mizoram Transparency in Public Procurement Act, 2008 and the Mizoram Public Procurement Rules, 2020, it had said.
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Royte has concealed in his affidavit the ongoing projects undertaken by his firm at the time of filing nomination in 2018 and the NECS has been executing various projects since it was approved as an empaneled firm by the state government in September 2022, it had alleged.
Last week, state Governor Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati sought the opinion of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the petition.
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