Lapang might have been under immense pressure to quit: Former Congress Minister RG Lyngdoh

A REPORTER

SHILLONG: Former Congress Minister RG Lyngdoh on Sunday said that there might have been a lot of pressure that has made a veteran political leader like Dr. DD Lapang to take such a drastic step to quit the Congress party.

“For a man who has been so long in one party (Congress) to decide now at the fag-end of his career and life that he is going to leave the party must not have been easy for him and there must have been a lot of pressure that has made him take such a drastic step,” Lyngdoh said.

In his observation, the sudden resignation of Lapang from the Congress will adversely affect the party even if Lapang does not join any another political party in the State. “The fact that such a senior person is leaving the party now only weakens the party and I hope the Congress will listen to him and rectify whatever has gone wrong within the party,” he said. When asked if there is something wrong within the Congress which has forced him to leave, Lyngdoh said, “There must be otherwise why he would leave because such a senior leader to leave the party there must be something very wrong which had troubling him.”

On the exodus of veteran leader from the Congress, he said, “The exodus of veteran leaders might be because of leadership issues which needs to be addressed and there are also discipline issues within the party which needs to be addressed.” Asked about the future of the Congress, Lyngdoh said, “This is an opportunity of the younger leaders within the Congress party to make the party more relevant now.” When asked if he will rejoin the Congress party with a possible return to politics for the upcoming MP elections in 2019, he said, “No I’m not joining the party and I don’t have any plans to re-enter politics.”