NCP leader and member of UDP-led Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA), P A Sangma, will move to the Supreme Court on Thursday against the Centre’s decision of placing Meghalaya under President’s rule.
Sangma said the Centre’s decision to impose President’s rule is unprecedented and unconstitutional after the MPA won the trust vote in the House on Tuesday. The decision is sad as there was no constitutional crisis.
“The MPA government won the confidence vote on the floor of the assembly and there was no manipulation; everything was according to law. We shall challenge the decision in Supreme Court Thursday,” Sangma said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi that the Cabinet accepted the governor’s report about a breakdown in constitutional machinery and recommending imposition of President’s rule while keeping the legislatures under suspended animation. A suitable recommendation was being sent to the President, Chidambaram added.
Meanwhile, in another development, the Gauhati High Court issued notices to Assembly Speaker B M Lanong asking why it should not quash his order of interim suspension of five MLAs and abstaining them from voting rights during the trust vote.
A Shillong bench of the court headed by Justice T Vaiphei issued notice Wednesday on the petition filed by five MLAs who deserted the ruling MPA last week includes two independents Paul Lyngdoh and Limison Sangma and three others Ismail R Marak, Advisor Pariong and Sabor Shullai on Monday.
The MPA, which was reduced to minority after these five MLAs withdrew support from the government, went for the trial of strength on the floor of the House Tuesday. On Speaker’s order, these MLAs were denied voting during the trust vote. The MPA thus narrowly won the majority by 1 vote after Speaker cast vote in favour of the government. The MPA won 28 against the Congress-led oppositions’ 27.
Dubbing the Speaker’s decision of denying five MLAs from voting as unconstitutional, the Congress legislators led by former chief minister and leader of oppositions, D D Lapang, rushed to the Raj Bhawan and met Governor R S Mooshahary seeking imposition of president’s rule. The Congress paraded 31 legislators before the governor which led the latter to recommend President’s rule in the state.
Meghalaya has a long history of political instability. Since 1972 when the Meghalaya attained statehood there were only two occasions when the government completed its full five-year term. From 1998 to 2003, the state has witnessed four chief ministers and six different governments.
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