NEW DELHI, June 11 � Dissident activities continue to give Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi a headache, as State Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today met political secretary to the Congress president Ahmed Patel.
Sarma, who is one of the key leaders of the disgruntled MLAs, was scheduled to meet AICC observer for Assam, Ghulam Nabi Azad later this evening.
Sources said that Sarma, during his meeting with Patel, explained the latest position and briefed him on the stand of the rebel MLAs, who are reported to be around 40 in number.
Sources said Patel assured Sarma that he would brief the Congress president on the developments.
The rebels are pressing for a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in presence of an AICC observer to decide on the leadership issue.
Expectedly, the Chief Minister�s camp is not enthused with the idea of holding a CLP meeting and has opposed it. It is a prerogative of the Chief Minister to convene a CLP meeting. Further, a CLP meeting was held on the request of the rebels less than six months ago.
�What has changed to warrant such a meeting now,� a senior member of the Gogoi camp asked, adding that the AICC has already given Gogoi a free hand to handle the situation.
Meanwhile, Ghulam Nabi Azad said the political crisis in Assam is an internal affair of the party and they are trying to resolve it through consultations with all concerned.
