Lalhmingthanga, who is ousted from the MPC party he co-founded in 1975, today claimed that he has the support of 80 per cent of the party members across the state.
"About 80 per cent of party members are on my side. In Lunglei sub-headquarters, about 98 per cent of party members are ready to quit the party once the party president accepts my resignation," Mr Lalhmingthanga told a press conference here today, a day after he tendered his resignation to the MPC president.
Claiming that he remained loyal to the party through thick and thin during those 36 years, the former finance minister said, "The party has gone through difficult times. When the party was at the rock bottom and many of my colleagues left for greener pasture, I remained with the party." Lalhmingthanga recalled that he was the founding chairman of Lunglei sub-headquarters of the Human Rights Commission founded by retired Army brigadier T Sailo in 1974 to mitigate the army atrocities during the peak of Mizoram insurgency.
"I was again elected president of Lunglei sub-headquarters when the Human Rights Committee was transformed into a political party christened People’s Conference in 1975," he said.
''Despite my loyalty for 36 years, the PAC (political affairs committee) has forced me to quit the party which I loved and cherished most,'' he added.
On the recent party elections, which was the rootcause of his alleged anti-party activities, Mr Lalhmingthanga alleged that supporters of president-elect Lalhmangaiha Sailo, who was nominated from the floor, employed electoral malpractices to ensure that Sailo, the just retired bureaucrat, got elected.
"They transported about 160 non-MPC members from the rural area to cast votes in the presidential elections. It was the first time that such malpractice took place in the party elections," he alleged. When these 'non-party voters' could not arrive on time, Mr Lalhmangaiha’s supporters postponed the voting to 1400 hrs from the scheduled 1230 hrs, with lame excuses, he said.
Mr Lalhmingthanga, who was official candidate for the president post, was defeated by floor candidate Lalhmangaiha Sailo, son of MPC patriarch Brig T Sailo.
According to Mr Lalhmingthanga, the incident angered a large number of MPC loyalists who threatened to quit the party. "I have tried effort to calm them and pleaded them to remain loyal to the party. Ironically, I have been accused of hatching a conspiracy against the president-elect," he fumed.
"They served me a showcause notice. Even after I gave an explanation and proved that the allegations levelled against me were baseless, the PAC still decided to strip me off the party membership,'' he stated.
Mr Lalhmingthanga also expressed shock over the leaking of the showcause notice to the media which was supposed to be kept confidential.
He had allegedly convened a meeting of party leaders who disliked the newly elected president. That was the reason he was served the showcause notice. "As a politician, I am supposed to have visitors who would come to my house. Do I have to ask for the party’s permission to have visitors," he asked and maintained that he has not violated the party’s constitution.
Mr Lalhmingthanga, however, remained tightlipped over floating a new party. Sources have said that he is floating a new party which he has christened People’s Conference.
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