Arunachal CM extends olive branch to rebels

In a fresh bid to resolve the political turmoil in his state, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Nabam Tuki has sought to reach out to rebel Congress legislators, saying he is ready to discuss and address all their “genuine grievances”.

In an interview to HT, Tuki also said he had “enough evidence” to prove that the BJP had “orchestrated the defections” in the Congress and allegedly “used the office of the governor to topple a democratically-elected government” in the sensitive state bordering China.

“After all, rebel MLAs are part of the Congress family and have been misled by BJP. They should realise their mistake and work to strengthen the Congress in the state,” he said, adding, “I have nothing against them.”

Tuki’s offer to the rebels came on a day the Gauhati high court decided to hear on January 4 the matter related to the political crisis in Arunachal Pradesh.

The high court in an interim order earlier had kept in abeyance governor JP Rajkhowa’s move to advance the session from January 14, 2016, to December 16, 2015, and the subsequent developments that saw 21 Congress legislators and 11 BJP MLAs meet at a community hall in Itanagar and “impeach” Speaker Nabam Rebia after the state government had sealed the assembly premises for two days.

The next day on December 18, 33 legislators of the 60-member House meta ta hotel and passed a“no-trust motion” againstTu ki and“elected” dissident leader Kalikho Pul as the “new chief minister” of the state.

Tuki also claimed to have recorded conversations between Pul and a businessman in which the two are discussing the “imminent fall” of the Congress government.