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North East : Arunachal Pradesh : Congress dissidents out to rock Apang’s boat

	April 09, 2007

The weeklong political crisis in the ruling Congress over the fate of Arunachal Pradesh

Chief Minister Gegong Apang is drawing to a close, with the party high command in New Delhi mounting pressure on Apang to relinquish office.



Party general secretary of the Congress Coordination Committee (Northeast) and adviser to the Chief Minister, Takem Sanjay has in a letter “requested” Apang to step down to find a way out of the crisis.



“I have advised the Chief Minister to relinquish office only to help the Congress high command resolve the crisis. As a veteran leader, Apang must step down before being asked by the Congress high command to quit. Given the numerical strength of the rebels, it is advisable for the Chief Minister to step down gracefully to strengthen the party and thwart any possibility of defection,” Sanjay told the media in Itanagar.



Apang was summoned to New Delhi by the party high command to resolve the crisis. He was reportedly advised to step down in view of the strong dissidence against him. According to one report, a news conference convened by the Chief Minister’s office in

Itanagar after his return from New Delhi on Saturday was canceled.



Sources close to the Chief Minister said, Apang was optimistic about his chances of winning the dissidents back into his fold.



“It is a party matter. Our party is like a family. In a family, discord may arise, but it should be resolved amicably,” he is reported to have said in reply to a question by a reporter.



He said he had discussed the political situation in the state with Union minister Oscar Fernandez as well as Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.



Denying that he went to Delhi on Friday after having been summoned by the Congress leadership, he said: “I went to discuss Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the State with the Union Home Minister.” Asked if he had met Sonia Gandhi, Apang

said, she was away electioneering in Uttar Pradesh.



“My position is safe. I told them that they should send the dissident MLAs back to the state (from New Delhi where they are camping),” he told mediapersons after a function where K. Sankaranarayanan was sworn in as Arunachal Pradesh Governor.



Very few MLAs of the ruling Congress attended the Governor’s oath-taking ceremony. No minister other than Apang was present.



As the political crisis over Apang’s fate deepened, skeletons have begun tumbling out of the cabinet in Itanagar. With just a couple of days to go before a crucial CLP meeting is held in New Delhi, corruption charges are flying thick and fast.



Documents produced in New Delhi have disclosed that Power Minister Dorjee Khandu had last year ordered a reduction in the State Government’s equity in power project deals signed with three companies. Khandu is being projected as the next Chief Minister.



PM visit cancelled



In view of the political crisis in the ruling Congress in Arunachal Pradesh, Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh’s scheduled visit to the state was cancelled.



The Prime Minister was scheduled to arrive in Itanagar today (April 9) from Guwahati where he arrived yesterday (April 8) to lay the foundation stone of a bridge over the river Brahmaputra.



Observers say had the Prime Minister gone ahead with his visit, it could have resulted in a major embarrassment for the ruling Congress. Not only have 11 out of the 12 Ministers quit, most of the MLAs are camping in the national capital.



Apang’s erstwhile ministers are supporting Power Minister Dorjee Khandu’s claim to become the next Chief Minister and have asked Apang to relinquish charge.



The dissidents, 25 of the 33 ruling Congress MLAs, have been camping in New Delhi for the past 10 days.



With the crisis deepening, the Prime Minister’s Office has informed the state government that the visit to Itanagar was being deferred.



“With such a political crisis in the state, no Prime Minister would like to go. We have lost projects worth at least Rs 200 crore which would have followed the Prime Minister,” said a senior state government official.



On March 2, the Prime Minister had conveyed to Apang his wish to visit the state. Apang left Itanagar for New Delhi on April 6 after being summoned by the Congress high command. The Chief Minister called on Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil the same day in order to personally refute the allegations levelled by Khandu and his camp, sources said.