Inaccessibility of Congress leadership led to Arunachal crisis

Even as the Congress leaders on Wednesday held out threat to block the forthcoming Parliament session to protest clamping of the President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh, many in the party said inaccessibility of the party’s top leadership and their refusal to meet the rebel MLAs over past five months precipitated the constitutional crisis in the sensitive North-Eastern state bordering China. “Over past many months, off and on, Congress MLAs were in Delhi, attempting to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi to convey their grievances and complaints against the chief minister Nabam Tuki. But could not get an audience,” a senior party leader said. 

Many party leaders said while the BJP was squarely responsible for detabilising the sensitive state, they maintained that the crisis could have been sorted by the Congress inhouse. Repeatedly Mrs. Gandhi and Rahul refused to give a hearing to the dissidents demanding removal of Tuki. They camped in Delhi for four months and lobbied with all senior party leaders but neither she nor Rahul Gandhi gave them an audience, forcing them to ultimately split the party. Party’s general secretary incharge of North East 

V Narayanasamy was confident that rebels were still ready to return to the party, but sources in the party say, it was still for Gandhis to take call and have a last laugh at the BJP and Governor JP Rajkhowa .

Exactly half of the 42 Congress MLAs walked out of the party but they are in no position to form a government unless they patch up with Tuki to have a Congress government in the state. The BJP, which has just 11 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly. The first hints of the rebels' return to the Congress came from former finance minister Kalikho Pul whose removal from the government had triggered the split in the party. 

Narayanasamy said the minister for state for home Kiran Rijiju, has been coordinating defections and he had lodged BJP MLAs and Congress MLAs together in a hotel in Delhi for more than 5 months together. “This clearly shows that the BJP has actually got the defection in the Congress and on Wednesday they are telling that they are having the majority,” he said.