Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 14:
One day after the AICC general secretary Prithiviraj Chauhan, who was deputed here as a Central observer to get a first hand account of the leadership crisis within CLP left for Delhi, dissident MLAs have decided to shift their camp to the National capital to carry on their revolt against the leadership of Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh has left Imphal today to attend the official meetings at Shillong and Delhi.
Sources from the dissident camp said that a meeting of the dissident MLAs was held yesterday after Prithiviraj Chauhan left for Delhi to discuss the political development in the backdrop of the Central observer's visit and decided to shift the camp to Delhi from tomorrow.
For the first batch, in all 13 dissident MLAs would be leaving Imphal for Kolkata by flight at 2.30 pm tomorrow.
However, Law and Legislative Affairs Minister Th Debendra, who is being projected as the leader by the dissident MLAs and MPCC president Gaikhangam, would not be part of the trip.
The dissident MLAs would be halting one or two nights at Manipur Bhavan, Kolkata to wait for the return of AICC general secretary Prithiviraj Chauhan to Delhi from Karnataka.
Soon after receiving the report of his return to Delhi, the dissident MLAs will shift base from Kolkata to Manipur Bhavan at Delhi.
Chauhan is yet to submit his report of the series of meetings he had with both the dissident and loyalist groups to the AICC high command.
Before submission of the report, the dissident MLAs would meet Chauhan and other Central leaders of the party to exert pressure for removing Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh.
After the first batch of the dissident MLAs leave Imphal to continue with their oust Ibobi campaign at New Delhi, others are likely to follow suit even as sources disclosed that MPCC president Gaikhangam would be leaving for Delhi on December 17.On submission of the report by Chauhan, the same would be taken up for discussion during a meeting of the working committee of AICC and it would decide whether Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh would be removed or not, the sources added.
Stating that there has been no change in their the stand of projecting Law and Legislative Affairs Minister Th Debendra as the leader of the dissident group, the dissident MLAs made have it clear that they would never accept shuffling of the Ministry without removing Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh.
'Our cause is not for the posts of Ministers but for the removal of the Chief Minister.
So there can be no solution to the present crisis until and unless the Chief Minister is removed', the dissident MLAs said.
Meanwhile, along with MLA Th Lokeshore, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh today left Imphal to attend some official meetings.
After attending the passing out of the newly recruited MPS officers at North East Police Training Academy at Shillong tomorrow, the Chief Minister would proceed for Delhi to attend the meetings of the NEC and the NDC scheduled respectively on December 16 and 16 as well as the conference of the Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled States slated to be held on December 20.While at the National capital, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh is likely to meet other Central leaders in connection with the trouble brewing at home.