One Year Of Khandu Government

Marking the completion of one year in office by the Pema Khandu-led Arunachal government, a slew of schemes and programmes were launched. Northeast Today analyses the year gone by and brings out the details about Khandu’s one year report card.

- Amar Sangno

The past twelve months have never been easy for Arunachal’s young Chief Minister Pema Khandu. His accession on the ‘musical chair’ itself was an outcome of unprecedented political dramas that were played out in the state, after the fall of then Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.

On July 17, 2017, CM Pema Khandu completed one-year in governance surrounded by nature’s fury leaving trails of destructions and damages claiming human lives. Pall of gloom descended in the state after 14 people including minors tragically perished in mudslide at Laptap- a small village along NH 299 under Toru circle in Papum Pare district and a chopper crashed and killed three crew members on board and IRBN personnel while on rescue mission near Hostallam village in the same district.

Eldest son of late Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu who is referred to as the ‘laughing Buddha’, Pema became the 8th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on July 17, 2016- youngest in any Indian state so far. It was, however, least expected that the legacy of his late father would fell upon his shoulders this early.

Turmoil of the past

Pema Khandu took charge as Arunachal’s CM at a time when the state often rubbed with an unwanted sobriquet of being a ‘politically unstable state’ among the different Indian states alongside Nagaland.

Lots of political drama unfurled after his predecessor Nabam Tuki was dislodged by his own Congress dissident MLAs just after one year when grand old party was elected popularly. This led to imposition of President’s Rule and paved the way for rebel legislators’ leader, late Kalikho Pul, to don the Chief Minister’s hat on February 19, 2016.

However, the Supreme Court later termed Pul’s rise as CM as ‘unconstitutional’ and turned back the clock reinstating Tuki as the Chief Minister on July 13, 2016.