The political crisis in Arunachal Pradesh, which is staring at President’s Rule after 35 years, began a year ago when the Nabam Tuki government was accused of fiscal mismanagement.
Tuki has since been facing dissidence which reached a crescendo with the rebels holding a controversial assembly session last month.
Political stability is crucial for the militarily strategic state that China has been staking claim to. But the frontier state has been witness to political coups since 2003, when former chief minister Gegong Apang helped the BJP form its government overnight.
In 2007, Dorjee Khandu became the CM by toppling Apang’s government. He too faced dissidence from a group of MLAs, one of them being Tuki.
An air crash killed Khandu in April 2011 and the dissidence turned towards his successor Jarbom Gamlin. The rebellion triggered ethnic violence, forcing Gamlin to resign and make space for Tuki from November 1 that year.
Tuki’s reign hit turbulence towards the end of 2014 as the state ran up debts amid allegations of fiscal mismanagement and diversion of central funds for allegedly dubious payments. The skeletons began tumbling out of the cupboard after Kalikho Pul, the now dissident leader, was dropped as health and family welfare minister in December 2014.
Tuki dismissed four more ministers; some MLAs quit in the next few months. The dissidence gathered momentum after ex-Assam chief secretary JP Rajkhowa was appointed state’s governor in June last year.
{{/usCountry}}Tuki dismissed four more ministers; some MLAs quit in the next few months. The dissidence gathered momentum after ex-Assam chief secretary JP Rajkhowa was appointed state’s governor in June last year.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress accused Rajkhowa of using Raj Bhavan as a BJP office and working for saffron party to summon a controversial assembly session from December 16-18. It was the trigger for a series of court cases by either side, culminating in the Centre recommending President’s Rule on Sunday.
“Our dissidence is almost a year old, so it is not right to accuse the governor of trying to topple the state government,” Pul had said a few days ago.