Exactly two months after Pema Khandu was named as the legislature party leader in Arunachal Pradesh by the Congress to win back its rebels and check growing infighting, the party faced a severe jolt a
Exactly two months after Pema Khandu was named as the legislature party leader in Arunachal Pradesh by the Congress to win back its rebels and check growing infighting, the party faced a severe jolt as Mr Khandu and 42 party MLAs defected and merged with People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), which is associated with a BJP-led front in the Northeast region. A shocked Congress described the political development as the “illegitimate child of BJP” and a “diabolical design to decimate democracy”. The BJP however, blamed Congress’ internal dissent for the political turmoil. It is the second time this year that the Congress has been hit hard by rebellion in this state.
“Gross and rampant misuse of money power finally delivered an immoral government of opportunists and turncoats. The mandate of the people of Arunachal Pradesh, who voted the Congress to power, has been robbed in broad daylight,” said Congress chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala. He alleged that the PPA is the “illegitimate child of BJP’s diabolical design to decimate democracy”.
Insisting that BJP has no role in the latest political development in the state, BJP leader and Union minister Kiren Rijiju claimed Congress MLAs were “angry with their own leadership” which led to their joining PPA.
“Congress MLAs, including the chief minister, in Arunachal are angry with their own central leadership. They have to wait in Delhi for 4-5 days to meet their own leaders. This has eventually led to MLAs joining a regional party. There is no more Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh,” the minister said, adding that “if the MLAs don’t want to stay with the Congress, what can the others do”.
He said the Supreme Court had reinstated the Congress government in July, but “ultimately the MLAs’ decision is final” and the Congress unnecessarily blames the BJP.
The Congress accused the BJP of using money and muscle power and said having been thwarted twice, BJP began by engineering defections, inducements and threats to subvert the people’s mandate.
Mr Surjewala said the “architects of extinguishing and murdering” the very spirit of democracy and constitutionalism are Modi and Shah who rode to power on the promise of cooperative federalism.
“The prodigal sons of Congress who have jumped ship have made massive ideological and political blunder and compromise,” said the Congress leader.
