The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has suspended the eight Congress legislators in Nagaland who had joined the Naga Peoples’ Front (NPF)-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) Government in the State on Friday. Terming the move of the eight legislators as violation of party direction, the AICC also served showcause notices to the eight Congress legislators and asked them to explain as to why action should not be taken against them.
While a few of the eight legislators had already left for New Delhi to explain their position, some are likely to leave for the Union capital on Monday to meet the AICC leadership and explain their position. NPCC spokesman, GK Zhimomi, while expressing concern over the development, said that the suspended Congress legislators are likely to meet the AICC leadership soon and reply to the showcause notice.
The Nagaland legislative Assembly virtually became one without any opposition on Friday after all the eight Congress MlAs joined the DAN alliance. While one of them was given a Cabinet berth, two others were made adviser to the Chief Minister TR Zeliang with Cabinet rank and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly respectively. Five other Congress legislators were accommodated in the Ministry as Parliamentary Secretaries.
V Narayanasamy, the AICC’s in-charge for the Northeast issued the showcause notices and said that the legislators have violated the AICC direction that the Congress will not join the DAN alliance, where the BJP is already a partner. Newly-appointed president of the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) K Therie had last week made it clear that the Congress will not join the Government since the BJP is part of the NPF-led DAN Government in Nagaland.
Therie had also sent a written ommunication to Congress legislature party leader Tokheho Yepthomi that Congress MlAs should not join the NPF Government as per the directions of the AICC president. He said that the AICC had asked the MlAs to explain their position within seven days’ time. “We are going to explain our position and that under what circumstances we have joined the Government. In case there is suspension from the Congress, we are going to continue to remain as Congress members in the Assembly till completion of its tenure, although they will not have anything to do with the party affairs,” Yepthomi, who is one of the eight Congress legislators, said.