Guwahati, Jan. 19: Former Asam Sahitya Sabha president Kanaksen Deka today said presiding over the Sabha's centenary celebrations by Prahlad Chandra Tasa is against the rules of the largest literary body.

The claim came a day after a delegation of the Sabha's executive body had announced that vice-president Tasa would be the president of the Sabha's centenary session to be held next month in Sivasagar district.

Many hoped that yesterday's development will bring to an end the weeks-long controversies surrounding the Sabha. Deka's claim is likely to push the state's apex literary organisation into another crisis.

The announcement that Tasa will be the president of the Sivasagar session came yesterday after separate meetings by the vice-chancellors of three universities with Deka, another former president Lakhinandan Bora, representatives of the Sabha's executive body and the reception committee formed to celebrate the centenary.

Deka said as Bora had resigned on the ground of losing his faith in the Sabha's general secretary Paramananda Rajbongshi and the executive body, the latterstood dissolved with his resignation.

"This means the vice-president's post also stands dissolved. In such circumstances, how will Tasa preside over the centenary session?" he asked.

"Moreover, Tasa is an active member of a political party. According to the Sabha's rules, participation of a politician is banned in the Sabha," he said.

"Yesterday, we told the vice-chancellors that the new president, vice-president, general secretary and the executive body should be elected for the Sivasagar session. And, that, if required, the session be deferred to November or December. Agreeing to our suggestions, the VCs promised to dissolve the executive body. But subsequent developments were exactly the opposite," Deka said.

The three VCs are Mridul Hazarika, Hitesh Deka and Dipak Kumar Sharma of Gauhati University, Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University and Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University respectively.

The Sabha's general house meeting had earlier formed a committee of presidents for the Sivasagar session with the three VCs, but they preferred to remain as advisers. Citing the Sabha's constitution, Deka today said none of the three VCs has the quality to be the Sabha's president.

"I do not blame the vice-chancellors. They were made scapegoats by the outgoing general secretary Paramananda Rajbongshi," Deka said.

He added that the proposed biennial Bordumsa session of the Sabha in Tinsukia is also illegal. "They can make it an annual session, but not a biennial session," Deka said.

The Sabha's last biennial session was held at Kaliabor in Nagaon district in 2015.