New Delhi, April 13: Five-time Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang’s fall from grace has opened a can of worms. It has become clear that it was not merely the rebellion within the Congress that sealed his fate, but that larger security issues were responsible for his exit last week.

Dorjee Khandu, who came to power after revolting against Apang’s leadership, was not the only trigger for the change of guard. The Centre had taken serious note of allegations against Apang that he was ignoring the state’s security.

The seriousness of the accusations, first conveyed to Governor S.K. Singh and subsequently to the Centre, meant that Apang could not continue in the hot seat.

One of the charges against Apang was that he had links with the Chinese and had even met officials of that country during his visit to the border. These appear to have worried the government.

Again, the fact that Apang did not utter a word after Chinese ambassador San Yuxi said that Arunachal Pradesh belonged to China peeved fellow legislators.

While the campaign to dislodge Apang was under way, the Centre became increasingly worried about the need to put in place a chief minister against whom there could be no accusations that he was jeopardising security in Arunachal Pradesh.

This became all the more important when allegations propped up regarding Apang’s alleged links with Ulfa and the NSCN (I-M).

The Naga outfit has a strong presence in Tirap and Changlang districts while Ulfa leaders were killed in Arunachal Pradesh in encounters recently.

Moreover, accusations that he amassed crores of rupees during his 24-year tenure as chief minister added to the dissidents’ firepower against Apang.