From CK Nayak
Pressure mounts on Mukul for action against Sniawbhalang Dhar for anti-party activities
New Delhi: A humbled Congress which tested defeat in Tura and suffered a reduced margin in Shillong during the Lok Sabha polls seems to be jumping from the frying pan to fire with the AK Antony Committee questioning the State Congress on why no action was taken against the MLAs and ministers who allegedly worked against the party candidates.
Serious dissidence in Khasi-Jaintia Hills and defeat in Garo Hills added with near total rout all over the country in the Lok Sabha polls has put the Congress in a piquant situation in Meghalaya even as AICC demands action from the State unit. There are fears that any action or lack of it will aggravate the disquiet situation within the party and the Government.
AICC leaders who gave a long discourse on unity to both the Chief Minister and the MPCC president wanted action against the MLAs and ministers who worked against the party candidate in the Shillong seat. “Why so far no disciplinary action has been taken against such elements for their anti-party activities in the crucial election time?” one of the members of the Antony Committee asked the state leaders, AICC sources said.
Both Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and MPCC chief DD Lapang tried to explain the current unstable situation of the party all over the country and possibility of a serious fallout since Congress is no more in power at the Centre in case action is taken against such legislators. But the AICC advised the State unit to collect more evidence and keep a tab on such elements who hurt the party when it needed their help the most, the sources added.
Trouble is brewing afresh in the party with a few Congress legislators expressing displeasure over the stand of the Chief Minister and the party for not taking action against Cabinet Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar for allegedly campaigning against Vincent Pala.
A few legislators, who do not want to be named at this juncture, had already expressed surprise as to why the Chief Minister was not axing the Minister from his Cabinet over alleged anti-party activities and had even threatened to revolt in July if no action is taken.
Both Sangma and Lapang tried to explain the Tura defeat through statistics by arguing that the vote percentage of Congress had increased and Purno’s once very high margin had been reduced. This, however, did not impress the committee members who know that the Congress performed worse than the 2013 Assembly polls and the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
The Chief Minister’s absence from campaigning in Khasi-Jaintia Hills also came in for criticism during the meeting. Sangma had defended his action on the ground that he had to concentrate in Garo Hills and many veterans like Lapang were there for Pala who himself was a sitting MLA while Daryl was a green horn who had to be heavily supported.
There was also discussion on the role of the Independent MLAs who, despite getting positions and perks of parliamentary secretaries, had worked against the party candidates. The party might have a rethinking on them during the next Assembly polls scheduled in the State in 2018.