Friday, Deborah likely to meet Sonia today
Our Spl Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Both the dissidents and the loyalists who are virtually camping in the national capital for the past two weeks have become active again with the arrival of PCC president, Friday Lyngdoh here on Monday night, but any settlement looks remote at least for the time being.
Both Lyngdoh and working president Deborah Marak are likely to meet party president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday, the MPCC chief said.
The octogenarian Friday Lyngdoh and Deborah Marak were summoned by the AICC top brass to hammer out a solution to the continued stand-off between the two warring groups in the ruling Congress.
The Chief Minister, Dr Mukul Sangma, who is facing the dissidence, has been staying here since the beginning of this month even after finalisation of Annual Plan and other official engagements.
His bête noire former Chief Minister DD Lapang was here even earlier and has been meeting several leaders along with other dissident leaders.
The dissidents claim their demand was delayed due to sudden death of
former Aruanchal Pradesh Chief Minister and would be taken up now. The PCC president’s show cause notice to five of the dissidents — all from Garo Hills — has only complicated the situation. Considering the adamant stand taken by both sides a showdown is also likely very soon by both or either sides. The AICC is not in favour of changing leadership frequently but has done it in case of Meghalaya many times in the past. Now it is caught between its stand and virtual revolt by majority legislators. Reports of administration coming to a standstill for over two weeks and the lawmakers camping here for so many days in a row has also jolted the party top brass. But at the peak of dissident activities, the Chief Minister has asserted that he would complete his term and stay till 2013. His performance in the past one year has been showcased as his plus point. Meanwhile, both the AICC office bearers — Dr Dhaniram Shandil and Sanjay Bapna — in charge of the State went to Itanagar on Monday for ministry formation and finetuning of the new Government there. Former MPCC president OL Nongtdu, also known to be a dissident, had returned here on Monday. The dissidents who have met the AICC top brass including Ahmed Patel now want to meet the all-powerful Sonia Gandhi to air their grievances against the Chief Minister and the AICC in-charges of the State. They alleged that the AICC office bearers have acted in a partisan way and failed to call the meeting of the CLP which is the right forum to settle the leadership issue. The dissidents who are staying outside Meghalaya House and held a series of meetings claim that their number has increased and they have majority support.