| Gegong Apang | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 July 1949 Arunachal Pradesh |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
Gegong Apang (born July 8, 1949) is an Indian politician from Arunachal Pradesh. He was born to parents of Adi descent. He served as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh from January 18, 1980 to January 19, 1999 and again from August 2003 to April 2007, when he was replaced by Dorjee Khandu.
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Apang was first elected as Chief Minister in 1980. He held the position until 1999, when he resigned following a no-confidence vote caused by a split in the ruling Congress Party.[1]
He was elected leader of the newly formed United Democratic Front, a coalition of his own political party, the Arunachal Congress and several others, in 2003. Only a few months later, Apang and his supporting MLAs merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party,[2] the first time the BJP had ever ruled a state in north-eastern India.[3] A few months after the BJP-ruled National Democratic Alliance lost power at the center during 2004 elections, Apang returned to the Indian National Congress.[4] In October, Congress won a majority in state assembly elections, with Apang as obtaining the Chief Minister position.[5] He remained Chief Minister until 9 April 2007, when he resigned after pressure from other Congress MLAs led to the election of Dorjee Khandu as Congress Legislature Party leader.[6]
Apang was arrested in August 2010 for alleged corruption relating to a 1000 crore public distribution system scam.[7] Apang denied the charges and claimed they are politically motivated, though the government stated that the investigation was conducted independently and without political interference.[8] The scam allegedly involved fradulent hill transport subsidy bills that were passed while Apang was Chief Minister without the required financial oversight.[8]
Apang's son was kidnapped at gun point in June 2008.[9] Later that month he was returned home safely, and a maternal uncle of the son was arrested for kidnapping.[10]