Koijam hits out at BJP

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 30. The Samata Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party may have signed a truce pact at the national level, but bitterness continues with the deposed Manipur Chief Minister, Mr. Radhabinod Koijam, of the Samata Party hitting out at the BJP for the defeat of his coalition government.

Mr. Koijam, who lost the trust vote in the Manipur Assembly on May 21, charged the BJP with ``back-stabbing'' by voting against his Government. What was more, it was now ``instigating'' its MLAs to cross over to the Speaker, Mr. S. Dhananjoy Singh's camp. Mr. Singh has staked his claim to form the next Government in the State.

The senior BJP leader, Mr. J. P. Mathur, however, expressed surprise at these ``totally baseless'' charges. He said Mr. Koijam must have spoken out of anger and frustration since he was voted out of office. The BJP was interested in building the party in the State.

The BJP and the Samata Party had, on Monday, agreed not to be party to the formation of the next government at Imphal but comments by Mr. Padmanabha Acharya, BJP secretary in-charge of north-east, on possible defection by a majority of 26 BJP MLAs has ruffled the Samata feathers once again.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Koijam said statements of Mr. Acharya indicated that the BJP was trying to instigate its MLAs to leave the party and charged the BJP was involved in the `machinations' for forming a government.

The BJP was projecting Mr. Dhananjoy Singh for the time being and would subsequently take over, he alleged.

Mr. Koijam demanded that the Speaker, Mr. Dhananjoy Singh, resign forthwith as he had been ``misusing office by indulging in active politics.'' He had already written to the President, the Prime Minister and the Lok Sabha Speaker on the issue.

Mr. O. Joy Singh, president of the Manipur People's Party, who was also present demanded that the State be brought under President's rule.

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