Congress to act fast on Meghalaya leadership issue

New Delhi, Aug 27(UNI)Amid reports of Meghayala Chief Minister J D Rymbai being in a mood to fight any move to displace him from the post, his bete noire and former Chief Minister D D Lapang met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and reportedly impressed upon her the need to go by the demand of a majority of the legislators to solve the leadership issue.

Mr Lapang's meeting with the High Command for nearly 30 minutes last evening assumes significance in the context of reports of Mr Rymbai "hobnobbing" with NCP leader P A Sangma, who reportedly promised his party's support to the incumbent Chief Minister in the event of his coming forward to seek vote of confidence on the floor of the assembly.

AICC sources said the party high command will act fast on the leadership issue in the light of deepening crisis in Meghalaya where a majority of party's legislators supporting Mr Lapang had been demanding an early meeting of the Congress Legislature Party(CLP) to allow the present incumbent J D Rymbai to prove his majority.

Mr Lapang, who claims to have the support of 22 out of the 29 Congress MLA in the 59-member state assembly, also had discussion with Ms Gandhi's political Secretary Ahmed Patel and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Pointing out that unity should be restored in the Meghalaya unit of the party in the context of the forthcoming assembly elections, Mr Lapang reportedly expressed faith in Ms Gandhi and urged that his group should be delivered justice applying the principle of majority support as adopted in Meghalaya two months ago when Mr Rymbai became Chief Minister.

The view of the Lapang group is that a meeting of the CLP will be the only transparent way of settling the leadership issue in Meghalaya.

The Lapang group has brought to the attention of the high command the complete control of the government by "non-Congress agencies" and complete sidelining of senior and loyal Congress leaders, besides several other measures of the government that allegedly "demoralised" the party cadres.

Mr Lapang reportedly pleaded with Ms Gandhi to apply the democratic tradition followed by the Congress in Meghalaya also where a majority of the elected members of the assembly had been clamouring for solving the issue of leadership.

"We will never send a wrong signal to the people of Meghalaya who reposed faith in the Congress. Therefore, we will abide by whatever decision that Ms Gandhi and the party high command would take," a supporter of Mr Lapang told UNI.

AICC sources said Ms Gandhi had met Mr Rymbai and also Meghalaya Congress Chief O L Nongtdu and discussed the crisis arising out of the demand for change of leadership.

On the reports of the four regional parties which forms part of the ruling alliance supporting Mr Rymbai, the sources pointed out that the support of these parties was only for the Congress and not for any individual. "These parties will have to support whoever is the Chief Ministerial nominee of the Congress Party." UNI SH RP KP16727