The Congress government in Meghalaya is in trouble with a group of legislators unhappy with chief minister Mukul Sangma and seeking his removal.
Though Mr Sangma is confident of completing his term, the Congress high command has asked AICC in-charge of Meghalaya affairs Dhaniram Shandil to meet the legislators to defuse the crisis.
Mr Shandil is expected to visit the state soon for a consultation. If insiders in the Congress Party are to be believed, veteran Congress leader and former chief minister D.D. Lapang has extended his full support to legislators who are up in arms against Mr Sangma for his alleged autocratic style of functioning.
Mr Sangma had replaced four-time chief minister Mr Lapang, who could not complete a full five-year term even once in the state, which got 22 governments in past 38 years of its existence.
Mr Lapang was compelled to resign as chief minister on April 20, 2010 after 21 of the 28 Congress legislators proposed Mr Sangma’s name as the new Congress Legislature Party leader.
The Congress insiders said that at least 18 out of 28 Congress legislators in the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly has changed their loyalty and proposing the name of Mr Lapang to replace Mr Sangma.
The problem took a serious turn on Thursday when Meghalaya Congress chief Friday Lyngdoh also admitted before media that there is a growing demand from some party legislators for removing chief minister Mukul Sangma. He said that some of the legislators have informed their unhappiness to him but many have not given anything in writing. Sources said it is not only MLAs in the Congress, but some ministers too who are upset over the CM’s alleged autocratic style of functioning.