Meghalaya Congress is in more trouble, two senior leaders quit party

Shillong: Days after 12 of 17 Congress MLAs joined the All India Trinamool Congress, the party in Meghalaya is in further trouble as two more senior leaders offered their resignation.

The working president of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), James Lyngdoh, and former general secretary Dr Manas Das Gupta resigned from the party in Shillong on Wednesday.

James Lyngdoh, after tendering his resignation letter to AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, told reporters that, he joined the Congress in 1988 and was in the party for 33 years, holding many posts.

“I had spent my 33 years for the party and it is not just a joke. The ground floor of the Meghalaya Congress was built by my father, but they chocked me out from the Congress party. They had already sent a letter to Delhi to remove me from the working president. The decline of the party started on December 31, 2017 prior to the 2018 assembly polls in the state,” James Lyngdoh said.

The AICC on Wednesday appointed Deborah C. Marak and P. N. Syiem as working presidents of Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee and Billykid Sangma, Grithalson Arengh, Roger Benny A. Sangma, E. Osacar Phira, Manuel Badwar as general secretaries.

On the other hand, former general secretary of MPCC Dr Manas Das Gupta had also resigned from primary membership of the party.

Dr Gupta sent his resignation letter to MPCC president Vincent Pala stating, “I also hereby resign from Primary Membership of the Indian National Congress, with immediate effect, after having served the Party for 36 years and also having served as General Secretary, MPCC for 14 years, till the recent reshuffle of MPCC.

Meghalaya Legislative Assembly speaker Metbah Lyngdoh on Wednesday issued notices to Dr Mukul Sangma who is also the TMC legislature party leader, and nine other MLAs after a petition filed by Congress MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh, seeking their reply to their disqualification from the assembly.