NEW DELHI: The dissident legislators including the four ministers, who were dropped the Cabinet, led by DD Lapang on Tuesday met Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary, Ahmed Patel, and insisted that the meeting of the CLP for a trial of strength should be called immediately since they still enjoy the majority.
AICC sources said Patel agreed that the CLP meeting should be called at the earliest but advised them to wait for some time since the first reshuffle in the one-year-old Cabinet was done only on Tuesday.
The dissident leaders who were slated to meet party president Sonia Gandhi will not meet her and leave for Shillong on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the rebel legislators also held a meeting with AICC general secretary in-charge of Meghalaya Dr Dhaniram Shandil and secretary Sanjay Bapna. Union minister Viencent Pala could not attend the meeting since he had to receive a water resources ministerial delegation from Bangladesh.
Dr Shandil impressed upon the legislators to work unitedly for the long-term benefit of the party and the State.
Talking to newspersons, one of the dissident leaders claimed that they still enjoy majority in the CLP. “Once the CLP is called we can prove our majority,” he said.
Dr Shandil made it clear that the CLP, which has not been called for more than a year, will be a regular affair henceforward but it will discuss the pressing issues facing the State.
Ronie Lyngdoh, chief whip of the State Congress was among others in the Lapang-led delegation.