APCC says Kalikho Pul is victim of BJP's politics, demands probe

Debabrata Saikia said Pul was a good and sincere Congress worker, who served the party well for a long time

Demanding a proper inquiry into Kalikho Pul's alleged suicide, Assam unit of Congress on Tuesday said BJP's "undemocratic and twisting politics" have claimed the life of the former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister.

"He (Pul) was a victim of undemocratic practices of BJP. He was a very simple person and was not used to such twisting of politics by such a big political party," Leader of Opposition in Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia told PTI here.

The ups and downs in last eight months have actually claimed Pul's life, he added.

"When he drifted away from Congress with some colleagues, BJP and NEDA (North East Democratic Alliance) claimed it as a grand success on Pul's shoulder," Saikia said.

He said Pul was a good and sincere Congress worker, who served the party well for a long time.

"With their aggressive politics, BJP tried to destabilise the governance. The region is not accustomed to such practices," the senior Congress leader said.

Demanding a proper inquiry into circumstances behind his death, Deputy Congress Legislature Party leader Rakibul Hussain said the news of Pul's demise was very "sad, sudden and shocking".

"We are getting contradictory reports on how he died. We demand that an appropriate enquiry should take place. Only a proper probe will ascertain if it was a suicide or there was some foul play," the former Congress Minister said.