Threat to Sangma's Govt in Meghalaya

Shillong, Apr 12 : A fresh move is afoot to topple the Mukul Sangma-led Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) government, with rebel Congress legislators making efforts to bring in veteran Congress leader D.D. Lapang as the chief minister, a Congress source said Tuesday.

Sangma is scheduled to complete one year in office April 20.

A Congress minister in the Sangma cabinet said dissidence against the chief minister is gaining momentum among the party legislators.

'I think he (Mukul) is going out and they (rebel legislators) have got the numbers with them,' the minister told IANS, but refused to be named.

'They (rebel legislators) are not happy with the style and functioning of Mukul. He comes to office very late and takes unilateral decisions on several projects without consulting others,' the minister added.

Lapang, who resigned as the chief minister April 20, 2010, has been projected by 18 of the party's 28 legislators in the 60-member state assembly as the new Congress legislature party leader, to replace Sangma, party sources said.

Lapang and his loyalists are camping in New Delhi to seek an audience with Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The rebel Congress legislators also held few meetings with senior Congress leaders in New Delhi.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, who cut short his election campaign trail in West Bengal, has also rushed to New Delhi.

'Yes, they (Lapang and others) are in Delhi. They have met AICC (All India Congress Committee) leaders, but these are courtesy visits,' Congress secretary in-charge of Meghalaya Sanjay Bapna told IANS on phone from Delhi.

Bapna said he had not received any representation from the rebel Congress legislators.

'Our coalition government is absolutely stable and will complete its full term,' he said.

Political instability appears to have become a permanent feature in Meghalaya, which has seen four governments since the March 2008 assembly elections.

Sangma was sworn in as chief minister of a Congress-led coalition government April 20, 2010, after 21 of the 28 Congress legislators proposed him as the new Congress legislature party leader.

The Congress enjoys the support of UDP (9 members), HSPDP (2), KHNAM (1) and four independent members. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the main opposition in the state, has 15 members.

Meghalaya has seen nine governments with varied combinations, resulting in eight chief ministers between 1998 and 2009. Since Meghalaya attained statehood in 1972, only two chief ministers have completed their five-year terms.