Arunachal Chief Minister offers to resign, successor yet to be indicated

Itanagar, Oct 30(ANI): The high level political drama still continues in New Delhi with conflicting reports flashed by the electronic channels throughout the day on the issue of change of leadership in Arunachal Pradesh.

Late evening reports by agencies and electronic media quoted Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi saying that though Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jarbom Gamlin and his party rival Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Nabam Tuki had offered to resign from their posts today amid dissidence on the leadership issue, there was no decision on the issue as yet.

"The Arunachal Pradesh chief minister and the APCC chief have offered to submit their resignation. As of now, no decision has been taken. It is under consideration," Singhvi said.

Interestingly, numerous rounds of talks by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) team - Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, former union minister B.K. Handique and state's in-charge Dhaniram Shandil beside Sonia Gandhi's political adviser Ahmad Patel and senior AICC leader Oscar Fernandez - with Gamlin and Tuki jointly and individually since they arrived at New Delhi on Friday could not yield any solution to end the state's political crisis.

The state has been witnessing political instability since the death of former chief minister Dorjee Khandu in a chopper crash on April 30 and installation of Gamlin as Khandu's successor on May 5.

Gandhi had constituted a three-member AICC team to overcome the crisis. The team had visited Itanagar on October 23 and interviewed the 42 Congress MLAs in the fortified Banquet Hall there to elicit their opinions on leadership issue before returning to Delhi to submit their report to Gandhi.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Shinde had thanked the Congress MLAs for being disciplined. Is the current situation indicative of the standard of discipline the Congress is setting for the country to follow?

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) spokesman Tako Dabii informed that the CM is expected to return here tomorrow and the AICC team is expected soon to attend a CLP meeting, likely on Monday.

Dabi hoped the AICC will take a decision in the larger interest of the state.

He that said all the 42 Congress MLAs had authorized Congress President to choose their leader on May 5 last and had accepted her verdict. The GoAP would like to work for peace and harmony in the state, he added. (ANI)