Dissolution of Congress' Tripura state unit sparks faction feuds

Faction feuds have resurfaced in the opposition Congress following dissolution of the Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee, headed by former chief minister Samir Ranjan Burman.

Six of the ten Congress members of the legislative assembly, including Burman, reportedly threatened to resign from the assembly in protest against the AICC president's "unilateral" decision to dissolve the TPCC.

Congress President Sitaram Kesri dissolved six pradesh Congress committees, including the TPCC, last month and appointed central party observers to reconstitute the PCCs.

The other five are Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Goa and Delhi.

Senior Congress MLA Ratan Lal Nath, who was one of the six MLAs, told reporters in the state capital of Agartala that earlier the state Congress leaders requested the party's central leadership to not disturb any of the frontal organisations of the TPCC before the state assembly election, due in April next year. The six MLAs, sent resignation letters to the party high command to be forwarded to the Tripura assembly speaker, Nath said.

When contacted, assembly speaker Jitendra Sarkar said if any MLA wished to resign from the membership of the house he should write directly to the speaker. "So far I have not got any resignation letter from any MLA," Sarkar has said.

Burman, a former chief minister and at present leader of opposition in the Tripura assembly, was appointed TPCC president on August 22 last year by former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, replacing another former chief minister Sudhir Ranjan Majumder.

When contacted, Burman refused to divulge anything about the resignation in the interest of the party. "I would not deny the reports about the resignation of six MLAs and the issue is an internal matter," he added.

A senior Congress leader said faction feuds over the TPCC leadership had been damaging the party's image and party workers were being demoralised following the developments. Party workers and leaders should work united against the "misrule" of the Left Front government, he remarked.

He said at the moment there are at least five claimants for the TPCC president's post. They are, Samir Ranjan Burman, Sudhir Ranjan Majumder, Ratan Chakraborty, Birjit Sinha and Gopal Roy. Except Burman all other leaders are camping in New Delhi to lobby for the coveted post, he added.

Nath said recently the AICC president, ignoring the Tripura leaders' request, appointed former minister Bilal Miah as the president of the Tripura Pradesh Youth Congress Committee removing Dipak Nag. Nag was one of the six MLAs who reportedly resigned.

UNI