Gogoi-Ajmal meet sets off speculations

BY Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Oct 9: A shaky Congress today summoned its legislators and asked them to reorganize the booth level committees to bolster the organization, but what set tongues wagging was a closed-door meeting between AIUDF supremo Badruddin Ajmal and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in the evening.

Though Ajmal claimed that he led a Jamiat delegation to discuss with the Chief Minister the issue of "harassment of minority people" in the State, presence of AICC secretary Avish Pandey, APCC president Anjan Dutta besides other minority leaders from the Congress like Siddique Ahmed in the meeting set off speculations of a new political alignment in the State.

"So far, we don't have any proposal from the Congress on forging an alliance. But if any proposal comes, our core committee will decide," Ajmal said after the meeting held at the CM's official residence.

Siddique Ahmed, however, dropped broad hints stating that he was in a favour of a Congress-AIUDF tie-up in the upcoming elections.

Earlier in the day, thirty six of the sixty two invited Congress legislators attended a party meeting chaired by AICC secretary Avish Pandey at the Assembly secretariat.

The legislators were directed to re-organize the booth level committees by November. The meeting was also attended by district presidents and APCC president Anjan Dutta.

Anjan Dutta reiterated that "non-performing" legislators will not be given tickets in the assembly elections. "We will not go by faces," he said.

On allegations that the Congress was indulging in yarn-blanket politics, Dutta said, "Every year the government distributes yarn and blankets. There's nothing new in it. The Congress wants to help the poor unlike the BJP which works only for the benefit of the corporate houses."

Today's developments close on the heels of eight North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council members resigning from the Congress to join the BJP. The Congress also faced an embarrassment at the Tiwa Autonomous Council, which it could not form despite winning 15 of the 30 seats. The council was formed by the Tiwa Oikya Mancha with the backing of the AGP and BJP.