Itanagar, Dec. 22: The All Nyishi Students' Union today staged a rally in protest against an audio clip where a man alleged to be Hayuliang MLA Kalikho Pul was heard making derogatory remarks against the community.
The students' union also targeted governor J.P. Rajkhowa. Demanding Pul's arrest and Rajkhowa's removal from the governor's post, the union's president, Byabang Joram, said Pul should not employ Nyishi youths as his bodyguards and take the support of Nyishi MLAs to topple Tuki's government if he was against the community.
It had lodged an FIR against Pul here on December 14 after the controversial audio recording surfaced. It had been doing the rounds on WhatsApp, a cellphone application for text messaging.
The students' union has also called a 12-hour general strike here on Monday.
Earlier, it had blamed Arunachal West Lok Sabha MP and Union minister of state for home affairs, Kiren Rijiju, for orchestrating the current political crisis.
A conglomerate of students and youth organisations here has filed an FIR against Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Nabam Tuki for his alleged involvement in breach of peace. On December 17, a large number of people had blocked a section of the road between Itanagar and Naharlagun, bringing traffic to a complete halt for almost seven hours.
They were protesting against Rajkhowa's order rescheduling the Assembly session, which had led to the "impeachment" of Speaker Nabam Rebia a day earlier. Thirteen unions today alleged that the road blockade was initiated by Tuki's supporters.
In their FIR, the unions said the people "were made to suffer unnecessarily" during the blockade.
On the day of the blockade, an "Assembly session" was held where the government had lost a "no-confidence motion" moved by 11 BJP MLAs and two Independents with the support of 21 Congress MLAs who are part of dissident leader Pul's camp.
Neither Tuki nor the 25 other legislators in his camp attended the session.
The 13 unions that filed a complaint against Tuki also alleged that deputy commissioner Mige Kamki did not disperse the crowd though he had implemented Section 144 CrPC. This, the unions claimed, indicated a "nexus between Nabam Tuki and his team and chief secretary Ramesh Negi, deputy commissioner Mige Kamki and the law enforcing authorities".
The unions have also named home minister Tanga Byaling, parliamentary secretary (home) Likha Saaya, chief secretary Ramesh Negi, and SP (on-duty) Tumme Amo in the FIR. The police confirmed that a complaint has been lodged but no charges have been framed yet.
