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Congress rebels step up demand to remove Tarun Gogoi

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Seen as a pressure tactic, the Congress rebels in Assam on Thursday stepped up their demand to remove chief minister Tarun Gogoi from the post of leader of legislature party and set a deadline of July 19 before the party high command.

"We want the high command to resolve the crisis before July 19. If not, we will chalk out our next course of action by Monday," threatened a group of five dissident MLAs at a press conference in Guwahati. But Gogoi appears to be unmoved. He has stuck to his guns saying he will not quit.

"There is no question of my resignation. Tarun Gogoi will never resign," the chief minister told journalists hours later. He had earlier asserted that he was not a coward that he would flee the battlefield.

The state's health and education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, whom the dissidents projected as the next chief minister, said delay in resolving the crisis by the party leadership would not serve any purpose.

"I am not aware of the press conference (of Thursday). We want that those entrusted with the task of resolving the crisis should resolve it immediately," Sarma said.

"The high command must come forward to resolve the various issues so that we can function properly and gain the confidence of people before the next assembly elections (due in 2016)," said Man Singh Rongpi, one of those who had addressed the press conference.

The rift between 46-year-old Sarma and 78-year-old Gogoi surfaced after the chief minister's son Gaurav plunged into politics in 2012.

Recently, the Congress leadership had sent senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge to the state to gauge the mood of party legislators and Pradesh Congress leaders. The rebels demanded that the leadership should immediately resolve the issues which they had placed before him. They claimed that they have the support of 55 of the 77 legislators.

Dissidence was largely blamed for the Congress' rout in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in which it won only three of the 14 seats. The party has been ruling the state under Gogoi since 2001.

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