Shillong, March 14: The AICC is exploring options to address the grievances of the dissident Congress legislators who are demanding a change of leadership after chief minister D.D. Lapang’s delay in effecting a reshuffle in the Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) ministry.

A senior rebel Congress leader today said from Delhi, where the dissidents are camping, that they have held several meetings with the AICC leaders.

They discussed the resent-ment in the Congress camp over Lapang’s delay in dropping the four ministers, resulting in a fresh demand for a change of leadership.

“We met the AICC general secretary in-charge Northeast L. Faleiro today and discussions will continue,” a Congress legislator said.

The disgruntled legislators are demanding that the lone KHNAM legislator, Paul Lyngdoh, and the three Independents, Ismail Marak, A.T. Mondal and Limison Sangma, should be dropped from the ministry to make way for senior Congress legislators in the ministry.

The Congress leadership is understood to have told the dissidents that for the sake of stability, they should give up the demand. However, they were assured that the AICC would try to induct a few seniors into the ministry.

Congress MP and Union minister Vincent Pala, on the other hand, is pressurising the chief minister to let Lyngdoh remain in the ministry.

Deputy chief minister Mukul Sangma is also against dropping the Independents.

From September last year, some Congress legislators in Shillong have been demanding to drop Lyngdoh, who was holding the urban affairs portfolio, for poor urban governance.

The dissidents also said the Independents had failed to perform.

Lapang had effected a reshuffle of the ministers, stripping Lyngdoh of the urban affairs portfolio on January 4.

The dissidents, however, said this was not enough and that the only way left for Lapang was to drop the four or face more rebellion.

They reiterated that the Congress, which has 28 legislators, should also get major cabinet berths in the ministry.