SHILLONG: Former Cabinet Minister and a veteran politician Bindo M Lanong has demanded resignation of Chief Minister Mukul Sangma saying the latter has lost confidence of his own party i.e Congress.
Speaking to The Shillong Times here on Friday, Lanong, while referring to the ongoing unrest within the ruling Congress over the demand for Sangma’s removal, said that the Chief Minister is no more the leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) as his support base has gone down drastically.
“The dissidents if they want to remove Sangma from the Chief Minister’s chair will have to stake claim before the Governor,” he said adding that subsequently the Governor would have to convene a special session of the assembly where Sangma would be asked to prove his majority.
“Now, the ball is in the court of Congress dissidents,” Lanong said.
“The political instability will definitely cost Congress and the party will have to pay a heavy price in the 2018 Assembly elections,” Lanong said.
The latest political crisis has accentuated following the massive defeat of Congress candidate Dikkanchi D. Shira, wife of the Chief minister, in the Tura Lok Sabha by-election.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Sangma’s son Conrad Sangma won the bypoll by more than 1.92 lakh votes.
On the other hand, the Chief Minister Sangma on Tuesday had accused the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to destabilise his three-year-old Meghalaya United Alliance government’s second term.
Sangma, however, has been maintaining that his government was stable.
In the 60-member legislature, the Congress has 30 seats, and has the support of the Nationalist Congress Party’s two members and 11 Independent legislators.
