Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, OCTOBER 16
Dissention and dissidence among party members of the state Congress got more obvious today with some party veterans leading a large group of protesters to the Congress Bhavan, Kohima demanding the removal of Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president K Therie “before he destroys the Congress party in Nagaland”.
The protesters, consisting of mainly senior congress members, voiced their dismay over what they called “Therie’s autocratic style of functioning” from the time he took over the seat. They cited that he first filed a disqualification petition against 8 Congress MLAs who were given the go-ahead by party members to join the Chief Minister TR Zeliang’s government, then a large number of ACCC presidents were suspended and DCC presidents and officials dismissed unceremoniously in the name of party restructuring program.
“According to the party constitution, no leaders can be removed when the reorganization process is on,” said Sulanthung, ex-MLA.
Another Congressman stalwart and ex-MLA, Nilo Rengma, who is also one of the seven Congress members to have recently been suspended from the party by the NPCC president, clarified that the protesters are not against the Indian National Congress (INC). “We are democratically protesting against the removal of duly elected members of the party, right after Therie became the PCC president,” he said.
Alleging that Therie has taken over Congress as his personal property, Rengma said, “In more than 30 years, the Congress party in Nagaland has had around 10 presidents who have worked hard to strengthen the party but Therie is displaying that he wants to destroy it (the party).”
He stated that 44 ACCC leaders have submitted a representation to the NPCC president and visiting AICC officials on September 24 last citing their grievances, and they got suspended in return. Maintaining that they have not done anything wrong, he said they, “the genuine Congress members” will continue to protest until Therie is removed from NPCC presidentship.
Former congress MLA Joshua Sumi reiterated during the protest rally that the remonstration is not against the party or any party member but solely against Therie’s decisions, and also for the love of their party. “We don’t mean to hurt his (Therie) sentiments but he needs to resign on moral grounds as his presence will only destroy the party,” he asserted.
Kohima District Congress Committee (KDCC) former president Prasielie reminded the gathering of Therie’s past, saying when he was earlier expelled from the Congress party, then he joined the NPF however the NPF also removed him, and when he was mulling to join the BJP, he was unfortunately appointed as adhoc NPCC president. He said they (dissidents) will approach the AICC for removal of Therie “before he destroys the Congress party”.
EX-MLA Sulanthung termed the recently released NPCC Roadmap is “Therie’s roadmap for destruction of the party”. He alleged that “Therie is autocratic, he is against Naga political solution, against the Eastern Nagaland people, and against senior members of the party”. As such, he said the majority of party members are now against his functioning and that he should resign on moral grounds. He also informed that Friday’s protest launched with the Kohima district ACCs is just the beginning and it will be taken to all the other districts across the state until Therie steps down.
The protesters also stated that the PCC president will be held solely responsible if any further action is initiated against any of the members present today. They also locked down the NPCC president’s room in the Congress Bhavan and strung posters demanding his removal at various locations of the party headquarters.
Meanwhile, a press statement issued by the NPCC media cell stated that NPCC officials and KDCC held a joint meeting at Congress Bhavan later Friday afternoon, and have outrightly condemned the action of “some few disgruntled senior party leaders who have come to Congress Bhavan and attempted to lock down the office of PCC president before the office hours”.
“The meeting resolved to stand behind the leadership of K Therie, who has been appointed president NPCC by Madam Sonia Gandhi, President AICC,” the statement said.
It was also said to have been resolved that the NPCC will appeal to all Congress members to uphold the ideologies and principles of the INC. “While reaffirming its commitment and dedication to the party, the meeting decided that it will not tolerate any undesirable activities within the party and urge upon the party leadership to take appropriate action against any Congress members who violates the party discipline and directives,” the statement added.
