Five legislators, including two Cabinet Ministers, say they wouldn’t hesitate to resign from their current positions if the Congress high command failed to remove Sangma as the CLP leader.
There are several points which led the present group of Congress legislators to drift away and demand for Sangma’s ouster. One of them being, “Mukul Sangma is a bad listener.”
“Mukul Sangma does not listen to anyone’s point of view and impose his views on others all the time. That’s not the way democracy works,” a Congress legislator said.
There are other issues. The CLP meeting has not been held after Sangma took over. “Conventionally, the CLP must be held every month for legislators to air their grievances and facilitate dialogue, which he never did,” another Congress legislator said.
It isn’t entirely true that dissidence within the party grew after Sangma became the Chief Minster last year. The differences had its genesis in 2008 after the Assembly elections.
The dissidents claim, Sangma contributed to the defeat of many “unsuspecting senior politicians” in Garo Hills in the last Assembly elections by putting up dummy candidates, even against partymen.
The list they say included, former Chief Minster Salseng Marak, Brening Sangma, Deborah Marak amongst others, who lost due to Sangma putting up dummy candidates. This, the dissidents claim, Sangma did to ensure his dominance in Garo Hills.
In fact, Augustine Marak, the community and rural development minister and now crying for Sangma’s ouster has “been a victim of Mukul Sangma’s politics.”
Congress legislators claim Pejush R Marak was an “independent dummy candidate” put up by Sangma against Marak as he did not want the “senior politician” to win in the last elections.
“After Augustine Marak won, Mukul Sangma rehabilitated Pejush Marak and made him a chairman of a government constituted board,” the Congress legislator said.
Ever since, there has been fissure between Sangma and other Garo Hills legislators and it cracked wider after he became the Chief Minister.
Dissident Congress legislators now state it isn’t practical for them to work with Sangma, now that the gap had widened beyond reach or reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the AICC is having discussions with dissidents projecting DD Lapang as the new CLP leader, and also with the Mukul Sangma-camp at New Delhi to find a solution.