SHILLONG, MAY 30: The rumbling within the ruling Congress in the state has been termed as a sign of ‘political nervousness’ with the regional party- United Democratic Party (UDP)- predicting that the era of the Congress is coming to an end.
The UDP also dared dissident Congress ministers to step down if they really wanted change of leadership in the state.
“On the demand for change of leadership, personally I could feel that there is nervousness in the Congress party due to the defeat in Assam assembly elections and Tura Lok Sabha bye-election,” UDP chief Donkupar Roy told reporters.
Roy said the Congress is nervous because it knows 2018 is not far and the era of the party is approaching an end. He felt the days of the Congress is numbered and after 2018 state elections there will be no more Congress in the state.
With the Congress going down in its performance at the national level, Roy said, “The Congress in the north east states are like branches of a tree which have fallen.”
Roy, who is also opposition leader in the state assembly, expressed surprise to see the dissidents demanding the removal of chief minister Mukul Sangma are also ministers.
According to him, there are principles which the ministers should follow since they are appointed by the Governor on the adviced of the chief minister.
“They (ministers) are not supposed to raise any issue or speak against the chief minister. However, if they feel the need for change, the ministers should first step down and do whatever they like thereafter,” he said.
Roy, who is a former chief minister, further stated, “But here, we could see they are demanding the removal of the CM but still wants to stick with their post as ministers.”
“This will be a test for the ministers whether they prefer their posts or change,” he added.
When asked, he said the question arises whether the chief minister has really lost the majority since some of the ministers have re-shifted their allegiance to the CM.
Leaving it to the wisdom of the chief minister whether to step down or not, Roy said, “Going by procedure, if there is change of CLP leader, he has to resign and if not the people who wants to topple him should go to the Governor and demand for a special session.”
Stating that the political rift is no longer an internal issue of the Congress, he said, “This issue should not be allowed to continue for long as it is the people of the state who will suffer.” He said political instability will affected development works and the people of the state.-By Our Reporter
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