Apang ousted as Arunachal CM

New Delhi: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Gegong Apang has stepped down as the second-longest serving chief minister of the country on Monday in the face of dissidence by a majority of ruling Congress MLAs.

State Power minister Dorjee Khandu, a Monpa Buddhist of Tawang, was elected the new leader of the Congress Legislature Party. He is likely to take oath as the new Chief Minister later on Monday evening.

The change of guard came about at the end of a week-long tug-of-war for power. As many as 27 of the 33 Congress MLAs in the state had revolted against what they called "corrupt" and "autocratic" functioning of Apang and moved the Congress high command seeking his immediate replacement.

Congress high command met top party leaders to sort out the issue on Thursday night and summoned the Apang and state Congress President Omen Deuri to Delhi to explain their side of the story. Apang, who met the Congress high command on Friday, had reportedly denied any rebellion among the MLAs.

The dissident group, which was camping in Delhi to hear the verdict of the party high command, had meanwhile elected Khandu as their leader and forwarded his name to the party president through the Congress in-charge for Northeast Oscar Fernandes.

Sonia Gandhi had advised Apang and the state party chief to summon a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party for a virtual trial of strength for Apang and Khandu. Khandu and 25 other Congress MLAs returned to Itanagar from Delhi on Monday morning along with Union ministers PR Dasmunshi and Oscar Fernandes. They were escorted to the CLP meeting by the police.

At the meeting, hardly five to six Congress legislators reportedly expressed support for Apang, who has ruled the state for a total of 23 years.

Emerging from the meeting, Dasmunshi told reporters that Apang himself proposed Khandu's name. Later, Apang accompanied by Khandu and Fernandes went to Raj Bhawan and submitted his resignation.

Since March 30, the Congress dissidents began leaving for Delhi in batches to demand Apang be replaced by Khandu.

The dissidents, while camping in Delhi met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her political secretary Ahmed Patel, besides Fernandes to say that they were unhappy over the "dictatorial attitude" of Apang and that he be replaced.