In two significant political developments, former Union minister Matang Singh was reinducted into the Congress while former Union minister B.K. Handique refused to take any post by declining the offer of heading the disciplinary committee of the party in Assam. Mr Singh was under suspension from the Congress for over a decade for indulging in alleged “anti-party activities”.
In what has surprised many Congress leaders, Mr Singh, soon after his induction, called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath on Saturday.
He was accompanied by AICC general secretary in-charge for Assam Digvijay Singh, who announced his return to the Congress with immediate effect. Mr Singh also met Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who is in New Delhi.
The return of Mr Singh has surcharged the political scenario of the state, with party leaders welcoming his return back to the party fold. Mr Singh has been a dominating figure in the political scenario of Assam in the 90s after his election to the Rajya Sabha in 1992.
Meanwhile, Mr Handique, who was said to have offered to quit the Union Cabinet on health ground, has indicated his displeasure over his removal from the Union Cabinet by refusing to take the post offered to him by the party in Assam.
Mr Gogoi, who was in Delhi, also met Mr Handique. Sources in the party said that he informed the veteran Congress leader that he too was caught oblivious to the development. If insiders are to be believed, Mr Gogoi is likely to take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the recent Cabinet reshuffle has also reduced the status of Assam in the Union Cabinet. Mr Gogoi is feeling embarrassed as instead of rewarding the state for the thumping majority in the Assembly polls, the state does not have a representative in the Union Cabinet.