Morung Express News
Dimapur | January 16
Reacting to news report carried in this daily of his forfeiting plans to contest the coming elections due to health problems, intending top Congress candidate for Ghaspani-I, Dr. Kakheto today clarified that he was very much sound and healthy, physically and mentally and made known his displeasure over the news report that he was facing health problems and would not contest the coming polls. Dr Kakheto seen by many as a staunch Congress loyalist pointed out that vested political interest persons were on a misinformation campaign to stall the move of allotting Congress party ticket to him. “I am going ahead whether ticket or no ticket”, he asserted.
Dr. Kakheto also reminded on the two condition laid out by UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi after the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh poll debacle that unless a person has been working in the party for at least three years, he would not be awarded the party ticket and that, rebels or defectors from any party would not be given the ticket. “I hope a person in the stature of Sonia Gandhi will not go back on her words”, Dr Kakheto said.
Speaking out on the issue of the Congress’ plan to award party ticket to the recently joined DAN ministers, Dr. Kakheto said that there was no point in having a Congress party in Nagaland if the party was going to issue tickets to ‘the habitual defectors’. “Congress is always saying grass root recommendations, but if now they are going to give the ticket without grass root recommendation through money in the higher-up than I am very sorry for them (Congress)”, he said. Talking about his own case, Dr. Kakheto said that right from the beginning he had been carrying the Congress on his own and fighting for the Congress for the last four to five years and if suddenly, the ticket is to be given through the backdoor, he was ‘sorry’ for the party.
“Anybody from any party can get Congress ticket anytime, if they have the money” he said in regret.
The intending Congress candidate of Ghaspani I laid the entire responsibility of the ticket clash on Congress Legislature Party and its Leader and that this was going against the interest of the party as a whole. The senior Congress leader also disclosed that there was division between the CLP and the NPCC over the issue of ticket distribution. Queried on his plans if he were not to get the Congress ticket, Dr. Kakheto said that there were many other alternatives available for him. “If at all I am denied (the ticket), I will not be the only one to be denied”, he said and added that he and the others might have to collectively sort it out.
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