12 Assam MLAs request Sonia to replace LoP
Lawmakers cite poor leadership in the letter
In what may further dent the vote bank of the Opposition Congress, infighting within the rank and file of the party has come to light once again with 12 party MLAs writing to All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi, seeking a change of the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Debabrata Saikia.
The development comes close on the heels of former chief minister and octogenarian Congress leader Tarun Gogoi expressing his willingness to take over the reins of the state Congress from incumbent Ripun Bora, following the party’s debacle in the recent by-polls to four Assembly seats.
It is significant that the Congress not only failed to win any seat in the bypolls but also lost the minority-dominated traditional seat of Jonia to the AIUDF which came into existence in 2005 because of the differences bet-ween Mr Gogoi and some Muslim leaders.
Mr Gogoi, however, dismissed rumours that he sought the sacking of Mr Bora as state party president when he met Mrs Gandhi in New Delhi Monday.
“I met the party president Monday but I did not discuss any matter regarding the party’s organisational affairs. We discussed a lot of national issues,” Mr Gogoi said.
A day later, the group of MLAs, known as the Tarun Gogoi loyalists, wrote to the Congress president, “Madam, we being the main Opposition in the Assembly, should have been able to highlight the failures (of the Assam government) and should have made a scathing attack on the ruling party in every session. But, we have miserably failed because of the poor leadership of our CLP. Our CLP leader Debabrata Saikia is neither vocal nor does he remain alert in the Assembly. He is timid and his voice is hardly heard. Consequently, we have missed many vital issues in the Assembly.”
The MLAs added in their letter, “Madam, we still have two years till the 2021 Assembly elections, and we should be very serious and play a very effective role in the house from now on to corner the government.”