Arunachal Pradesh governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa continued to face a barrage of criticism over the current political crisis in the northeast state with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today accusing him of acting like a "BJP agent and RSS pracharak".
The Gauhati High Court on Thursday had come down heavily on Rajkhowa saying he is required to perform his duty with the aid of the Council of Ministers but his action of preponing the Assembly session on the demand of Opposition MLAs "taints" the decision and renders it "unworthy of the state's constitutional head".
The Congress targeted the Centre over the crisis in the remote state, accusing it of adopting "vendetta politics".
"J P Rajkhowa behaved like a stooge. He acted like an agent of BJP and a RSS pracharak. He has lowered the dignity and respect of the governor's office. He has turned the Raj Bhawan into a RSS office," Gogoi told a press conference in Guwahati.
The Chief Minister said Rajkhowa should have behaved as the Constituional Head of the neighbouring state by following the rules only.
"He (Rajkhowa) was a Chief Secretray. It is not like that he does not know the rules. He knows the rules. He should have followed the rules as per the constituion," Gogoi said.
The Assam Chief Minister also accused the BJP of trying to "topple an elected government by money power".
"They (BJP) tried to do that in Assam also and that is why they took Himanta Biswa Sarma. But they failed to do it here... They are trying to do it in many states," he added.
Rajkhowa, who was the Chief Secretary of Assam, had advanced the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly session to December 16 from January 14 next year, after which the Speaker and Chief Minister were "voted out" and a new CM "elected" in a makeshift premises.
Expressing "extreme surprise", Rajkohwa immediately decided to appeal against the Gauhati High Court order staying his notification advancing the session of the state Assembly, leading to the political crisis in the state.
Slamming the role of the Governor in the political crisis, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma targeted the Centre.
"Who asked them to do what they did in Arunachal? It is Government of India."
"You make makeshift assemblies in dance bars, and restaurants and send central paramilitary forces. Such farcical exercises is blatant assault on Constitution and opposition is meant to be celebrating silent," Sharma told reporters in Delhi.
"I am sorry these are developments which are very serious and have far reaching implications for India's Constitutional democracy and therefore these will be resisted," he said.
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the country has seen "unprecedented level" of vendetta politics since BJP came to power at the Centre and cited CBI raid against Himachal Chief Minister, "conspiracy" to bring down Congress government in Arunachal and raid at the Delhi Secretariat.
