BJP hijacked our government: PPA

Bengia also alleged that they first “cheated” the then PPA chief minister Kalikho Pul and returned to the Congress after the July 13 Supreme Court verdict that had set the clock back to what used to be on December 13, 2015. “They first cheated our chief minister Kalikho Pul and joined the Congress. Within two days they removed Congress chief minister Nabam Tuki and made Pema Khandu their leader. This time they again cheated us to join the BJP. Should the people trust them?” Bengia asked at a press conference even before Khandu announced his group’s merger with the BJP.

The PPA had on Thursday evening placed chief minister Khandu, deputy chief minister Chowna Mein and five others under “temporary suspension” for alleged anti-party activities. On Friday it suspended four more MLAs. Simultaneously, it also projected Takam Pario, a brother of senior Congress leader Takam Sanjoy, as its chief ministerial candidate. But then the regional party was left with only 10 legislators when Khandu led the 32 others to formalised their merger with the BJP on Saturday afternoon.

The PPA, which did not have any MLA till December 2015, suddenly had 31 MLAs when then dissident Congress chief minister Kalikho Pul joined the regional party on March 3. While Pul lost his office after the July 13 Supreme Court verdict that set the clock back to December 13, 2015, Pema Khandu became chief minister of a Congress after Nabam Tuki (restored on July 13, 2015) was removed by the CLP. On September 17, the PPA once again got its government when Khandu and 43 of the 44 Congress legislators joined it.