Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 28: Discontent is brewing within the Congress in most of the states ruled by it as well as in Manipur where the party missed to form the government with just being three seats short of a clear majority in 2017.
Even as the Congress believed to have settled the broil within the legislature party in Chhattisgarh, the party suffered reverses in Manipur with one more of its members in the state Assembly resigning from the House bringing down its strength to 16 in the 60-member Assembly.
The party MLA Govindas Konthoujam, who had earlier resigned as the president of the state unit of the party, on Wednesday resigned from the Manipur legislative assembly and from the primary membership of the party.
Confirming this, the assembly secretariat issued a bulletin in this regard.“Shri Konthoujam Govindas, elected from 26-Bishnupur Assembly Constituency has resigned his membership from the Manipur Legislative Assembly,” says secretary M Ramani Devi of Manipur Legislative Assembly in the bulletin. “Consequent upon his resignation,26-Bishnupur assembly constituency is now lying vacant with effect from Wednesday, the 28th July 2021.”
With Konthoujam’s resigntaion, the Congress, which won 28 seats in the 2017 elections, is reduced to 16 MLAs in the assembly.
MPCC interim president Nameirakpam Loken Singh told media that the party is yet to accept the resignation. On reasons why Konthoujam resigned, Singh said, “It could be some personnel issues.”
In 2017 assembly elections, Congress had emerged as the single largest party in Manipur by winning 28 of 60 seats. But despite winning only 21 seats, the BJP formed the government with support of four National People’s Party MLAs, four Naga People’s Front MLAs and one MLA each from TMC, Lok Janshakti Party and an Independent. Since then, the Congress ranks continued to erode swelling the BJP’s strength.
In the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh which faced a crisis over a clash within its legislature party, a rift was averted after the government rejected an allegation against the health minister by its own member who had accused the minister of orchestrating an attack against him.
It all started last Sunday when Brihaspat Singh, the MLA from Ramanujan seat, alleged his vehicle was attacked by three persons including a relative of the health minister TS Singh Deo. The MLA further alleged that he was attacked since he had praised chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, inviting Singh Deo’s anger in return.
The Chhattisgarh government on Wednesday said the Congress MLA’s allegation that his convoy was attacked last Sunday at the behest of the minister was “false.”
The allegations had exposed the rift within the state Congress with Singh Deo walking out of the assembly on Tuesday, demanding to know where the state government stood on the allegations made by Singh.
However, on Wednesday, Singh apologised in the assembly and said his allegations against Singh Deo were an “emotional outburst”. “If I have hurt anyone’s sentiments …I apologise for that,” the MLA said.
Chhattisgarh home minister Tamradhwaj Sahu said the incident involving Singh’s convoy was that of road-rage and Singh Deo had no connection with it.
After the government’s statement on Wednesday, Singh Deo came to the House and attended the proceedings. “The issue has been resolved and the focus will now be on discharging the responsibilities towards the state as a team,” he said.
After the whole issue blew up in the government’s face on Tuesday with Singh Deo walking out of the assembly and the opposition BJP demanding a probe into the issue, the state Congress issued a notice to Brihaspat Singh last night, seeking his reply within 24 hours.
Discontent is also simmering in two other Congress-ruled states. After months of bitter attacks against each other, the party is claimed to have just brought around on one platform the warring factions of the chief minister Amarinder Singh and the newly-appointed state party chief Navjyot Singh Sidhu in Punjab. In Rajasthan, the party high command’s envoy Ajay Maken is grappling with the in-fighting between the chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot. While Punjab is due to go to the polls early next year, the elections in Rajasthan are just about 18 months away.
