Uttarakhand crisis: Murmurs in Cong point fingers at central leaders

While the party lost power in Arunachal Pradesh due to dissidence, it is fighting a survival battle in Uttarakhand and the infighting is now threatening to destabilise the Okram Ibobi Singh government in

After Arunachal Pradesh, the Congress is in mess in Uttarakhand and a similar crisis could be seen unfolding in Manipur as well.

Rebel Congress MLAs, a BSP legislator and the representatives of BJP after meeting the governor of Uttarakhand KK Paul at his residence in Dehradun on Friday, March 19, 2016. (PTI)

While the party lost power in Arunachal Pradesh due to dissidence, it is fighting a survival battle in Uttarakhand and the infighting is now threatening to destabilise the Okram Ibobi Singh government in Manipur.

Not only the rebels but a section in the party also primarily hold central leaders responsible for the growing dissidence in states, especially those ruled by it.

These leaders cite the example of Arunachal Pradesh where the situation was allowed to go out of hand by V Narayanasamy, who is in charge of party affairs in the northeast.

The rebels, led by Kalikho Pul, had been complaining about the “autocratic” style of functioning of former CM Nabam Tuki, and camped in Delhi for nearly four months to share grievances with the Congress leadership. But that meeting never took place.

One of the rebel legislators, Pasang Dorjee Sona, later claimed that Narayanasamy did not allow them to meet either Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi.

With the threat looming large on its government in Manipur, the Congress leadership has stepped in to prevent an Arunachal Pradesh-like situation.

For the time being, the crisis for the Congress in Manipur has been averted.

As the Congress is facing dissidences across the country, it remains to be seen how the central leaders handle the situation and avoid the repeat of Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.