Guwahati, July 6: The Congress high command today offered the post of Assam PCC president to former industry minister Bhubaneswar Kalita as the revolt within the party gained momentum. Supporters of senior leaders hit the streets to protest their exclusion from the ministry.
Supporters of Sarat Barkotoky disrupted normal life in his Sonari constituency, protesting the exclusion of the veteran leader from the downsized ministry, while Ardhendu Kumar Dey?s loyalists called a 12-hour bandh in Hojai tomorrow.
Terming Dey?s exclusion from the ministry a ?raw deal? for the Bengali Hindu community living in the Brahmaputra valley, his supporters also threatened to put up a rail blockade.
In a bid to resolve the crisis, the Congress offered the post of party chief to another disgruntled leader, Kalita, after incumbent president Paban Singh Ghatowar said in Delhi that he would resign on moral grounds for failing to retain his Dibrugarh parliamentary seat.
Though Kalita said the party?s central leadership had assured him of a crucial responsibility in the PCC, he refused to specify it. However, Ghatowar said though three names, that of health and family welfare minister Bhumidhar Barman, Rajya Sabha MP Anowara Taimur and Kalita, were proposed for the post, Kalita is almost certain to get the responsibility.
Sources in the Congress said the move was unlikely to appease Kalita or ensure a cordial relationship between the party and the government. Kalita is neither happy with his exclusion from the ministry nor keen on the post offered.
A senior Congress leader said stalwarts like Barkotoky, Kalita, Dey and others are likely to meet soon to chalk out a strategy to whip up their ?movement? against the government.
In another development, chief minister Tarun Gogoi today assigned the retained ministers additional responsibilities of replying to queries during the Assembly session, starting July 12. Bhumidhar Barman has been asked to answer queries on PWD, Gautam Roy on revenue, Pradyut Bordoloi on power, Hemprakash Narayan on education, Anjan Dutta on industry, Nazrul Islam on agriculture, Himanta Biswa Sarma on finance and Rockybul Hussain on sports.