Gegong Apang

New Delhi, Aug. 28: A forged letter naming Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang as the NSCN (I-M)?s main support in the state has sent as many as 33 jittery MLAs from the state scurrying to the capital to clarify that they had nothing to do with it.

The letter, dated August 2 and addressed to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and senior Congress leaders, bore the forged signatures of all these MLAs. The letter said Apang was not only backing the NSCN (I-M), but also the kingpin of the recent scam in the public distribution system .

The MLAs, belonging to the Congress and other parties supporting the government, met the President, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and other leaders of the party to submit a memorandum clarifying their position. They held Apang?s opponents within the party responsible for the incident.

Apang, who was in New Delhi, separately called on the President and the Congress high command to clarify that he was in no way involved in the episode. He, however, ruled out an inquiry.

?Our names have been dragged unnecessarily. We suspect that some disgruntled Congressmen who conspired with the Opposition are behind this incident. The President expressed shock when we told him the truth,? R.K. Khirmey, an Independent MLA who was part of the delegation, said.

The letter, dated August 2, said Apang and his son Omak were conniving with the NSCN (I-M) and that they had even sent a few MLAs to Nagaland, Calcutta, Delhi and Bhutan to hold parleys with the outfit. ?The main purpose of the meeting every time had been only to pay revenue to the NSCN (I-M) quarterly which is usually mobilised from the PDS contractors, legislators and other industrialists of the state,? the letter had said.

The MLAs said eight of the 36 signatures in the letter had been forged. They said they had signed on an application dated February 28 that made a plea to Apang to enhance the amount for the local area development fund. Later, without their knowledge, the sheet containing the signatures was ?fraudulently? attached to another application that made allegations against the chief minister. It was then despatched to New Delhi.

State Congress president Mukut Mithi is known to be an opponent of Apang. His clique had reportedly expressed displeasure when the party high command allowed the chief minister to defect from the BJP last year.

Mithi denied any involvement in the incident, saying: ?The government should order a probe if some signatures were forged. It is important that the motive and the persons behind the letter are found out.?

Though it appears that the controversy over the letter will fizzle out soon, it reveals the divide that exists within the Congress in Arunachal Pradesh. In a state where commitment to a political ideology hardly carries any meaning, such incidents would only fuel instability and suspicion within the party.

A party activist close to Mithi said the forgery gave a good opportunity to Apang to demonstrate his strength before the party high command. ?The focus should have been on unravelling the truth but instead, this group, which comprised mainly non-Congress members, has gone about meeting party leaders confirming their support to Apang. What does this mean?? the activist, who did not wish to be named, asked.