NEW DELHI, May 11 � The reported move to force Speaker of the Assam Assembly Pranab Gogoi to quit because of endorsing the definition of indigenous people, threatens to lead to a major upheaval within the ruling Congress, with a section of partymen coming out in full support of the beleaguered leader.
The dissidence within the ruling party in the State that had subsided, threatens to flare up once again over the issue of Pranab Gogoi�s sacking.
The Assembly Speaker arrived here last evening and is waiting for an appointment with Congress president Sonia Gandhi to clarify his position and to seek directions from the party high command.
A senior dissident leader told this newspaper that they are watching the developments very closely.
A section of Congressmen are unhappy with the manner in which Speaker Gogoi has been treated by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and PCC president Anjan Dutta. The Chief Minister has denied any role in the entire affair connected with the Speaker.
AICC sources confided that the Chief Minister had submitted a report to Gandhi when he met here last week, on the incident concerning the Speaker, leaving it to the party high command to take a call.
But the incident has opened other fronts for the Chief Minister, with a section planning to petition the high command on behalf of the Speaker. The move assumes significance because of reports that the disgruntled MLAs had projected Pranab Gogoi as Tarun Gogoi�s replacement.
Sources said it would be difficult for the Chief Minister to remove the Speaker if he declines to step down on his own. The ruling clich� would need a two-thirds majority in the Assembly to remove the Speaker, for which a special session would have to be summoned on the basis of a written complaint by a defined number of MLAs, said sources.
The group that is opposed to Tarun Gogoi plans to point out to the Congress president that the move to humiliate the Speaker would alienate the indigenous people of Assam, as the Chief Minister�s action is seen as a minority-appeasement move.
Further, the Speaker supported implementation of Clause Six of the Assam Accord, which was signed by Rajiv Gandhi, the leader of the pro-Speaker group said.
The Assembly Speaker faced strong opposition from the Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in the Assembly for his report on the definition of Assamese people.