Chetan Rai, Gangtok 24 Feb:
Founder-president of Citizen Action Party-Sikkim, Laxman Prasad Kafley, who had recently resigned from the party he had helped found, today informed a press conference that the reason he parted ways with CAP was because the party has abandoned collective leadership and centralised power around the new president, Ganesh Kumar Rai.
Mr Kafley was joined for the conference with other leaders who have also quit CAP, all claiming the same reason. They were, CAP’s Gangtok candidate in the last election Dawcho Lepcha, working president Lakpa Sherpa, Upper Tadong candidate Ravi Gurung, and West Pandam candidate Dr S Madan Rasaily.
It was open season on CAP and its current president today, with Mr Kafley and others claiming that collective leadership was the foundation on which the party ideology was based. This was why the party initially had 11 working presidents, Mr Kafley pointed out.
However, after Mr Rai took charge as president after the assembly elections, the working presidents were removed, leaving on vice presidents, he added.
Mr Kafley also d considerate words for the State Government, and called upon opposition parties to support the government on positive issues and not make it a habit to protest and condemn everything.
