The Congress on Friday once again lost its government in Arunachal Pradesh, as 43 out of 44 Congress MLAs led by chief minister Pema Khandu defected wholesale, and merged with the People’s Party of Ar
The Congress on Friday once again lost its government in Arunachal Pradesh, as 43 out of 44 Congress MLAs led by chief minister Pema Khandu defected wholesale, and merged with the People’s Party of Arunachal, thus paving the way for an alliance with the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). Mr Khandu now leads what is effectively an NDA government in the sensitive Northeastern state bordering China.
Chief minister Khandu, who replaced Nabam Tuki after a dissident campaign in July, paraded 42 MLAs before Speaker Tenzing Norbu Thongdok, who accepted their joining the PPA. This development, that was brewing for the past few weeks, is said to have unfolded under the supervision of NEDA convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Mr Sarma, however, refused to acknowledge his role in Friday’s developments in Itanagar, saying: “In the morning, at about 9 am, Arunachal chief minister Pema Khandu called me up and told me there may be some political development in Arunachal.” Asserting that the BJP had no role in it, Mr Sarma told reporters: “Mr Khandu called me up again at about 3 pm and informed me that 43 out of 44 Congress legislators appeared before the Arunachal Speaker and conveyed that they had decided to merge themselves in the PPA.”
On hearing the 43 MLAs, Mr Sarma said, the Speaker issued a gazette notification listing the 43 MLAs as member of the PPA. Mr Sarma said: “After the gazette notification, I informed BJP president Amit Shah about the development in Arunachal Pradesh.”
Saying Arunachal CM Pema Khandu had said he was willing to be part of NEDA, Mr Sarma said: “The PPA has already been a constituent of NEDA so Mr Khandu, after the merger of his legislators in the PPA, will be a part of NEDA and of the NDA at the national level.”
With the developments in Arunachal coming only a day after BJP president Amit Shah ended his Manipur visit, Mr Sarma said: “It is unfair to link the BJP president’s Northeast visit to the Arunachal developments.”
Asked about the reasons that led to the revolt in the state Congress, Mr Sarma said: “The message from the frontier states of the Northeast is very clear for the Congress Party — that nobody is ready to accept the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.” He said that even many stalwarts of the Congress in Manipur had approached the BJP to join (it).” He recalled that veteran Congress legislator and former minister Yumkham Erabot Singh, 77, had joined the BJP along with all his constituency supporters in Imphal on Monday.
“There has been serious unrest among tribal leaders of Tripura too. They want to join NEDA to fight against the misrule of the CPI(M),” said Mr Sarma, adding that he was confident of making inroads into the Congress Party in Meghalaya as well.
Friday’s development leaves the Congress Party with governments only in Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram in the Northeast. In New Delhi, the Congress dubbed the new setup in Arunachal an “illegitimate child of the BJP”, and blamed both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for the “diabolical design to decimate democracy”.
Congress’ chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala told reporters: “Gross and rampant misuse of money power has finally delivered an immoral government of opportunists and turncoats. The mandate of the people of Arunachal Pradesh, who voted the Congress Party to power, has been robbed in broad daylight.”
Arunachal CM Pema Khandu justified his move on the grounds that it was in the interests of the state and its people. “It is an undeniable fact a resource-stressed state like Arunachal has to depend on the Centre for all its needs. It is difficult to get things done at the Centre (if there are) political differences,” he told reporters. Mr Tuki, the former CM, was the only Congress MLA who did not join the PPA.
Friday’s dramatic developments in Arunachal Pradesh brought back memories of the famous “Aya Ram, gaya Ram” episode involving Bhajan Lal, who was heading a Janata Party government in Haryana and defected lock, stock, and barrel with all MLAs to the Congress after Indira Gandhi came back to power in 1980.
