PR imposed in Meghalaya

Cover Story Vol. 3 Issue No. 51

April 1-15, 2009

PR imposed in Meghalaya

Meghalaya has been put under President’s rule and the State Assembly kept under suspended animation. However, agitated leaders of the dislodged Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) said that the alliance would challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said President Pratibha Patil gave her nod to the decision taken by the Union Cabinet.
“The President has signed the proclamation for imposing Central rule in Meghalaya,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, announcing the President’s Rule in the State in Shillong, Governor R. S. Mooshahary justified his act to send a message in the form of directives to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. Senior NCP leader P A Sangma, who dashed to New Delhi Shillong with seven other alliance leaders, said they would move a petition in the apex court challenging the Government’s decision.

Aided by Speaker B M Lanong, who invalidated the votes of four rebel members ignoring the Governor’s directive and exercised his casting vote to break a tie, the NCP-led MPA Government had survived a confidence vote in the Assembly. The Speaker had suspended five MLAs, who had withdrawn support to the government, under the Anti-Defection Law ignoring the Governor’s directive.

“The action of the President and the Governor of Meghalaya is absolutely unconstitutional and unwarranted,” Sangma told reporters in New Delhi. Unhappy over the imposition of President’s Rule in Meghalaya, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader PA Sangma met President Pratibha Patil and demanded immediate recall of the Meghalaya Governor for his “biased report” that led to the Central rule in Meghalaya.
Later, Sangma met BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L. K. Advani and CPM general secretary Prakash Karat separately on the issue. After the meeting, Sangma said he has sought Advani’s support on the issue. The former Lok Sabha Speaker said the senior BJP leader assured him of BJP’s support to the NCP’s agitation against President’s Rule in Meghalaya.
“Advaniji said the Northeast BJP unit will be with us in our agitation against the imposition of President’s Rule in the State,” Sangma said. Sangma said imposition of the President’s rule in Meghalaya is “unconstitutional”. “We met Rastrapatiiji and lodged a formal complaint against the unconstitutional imposition of President’s Rule in Meghalaya.”
CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said the Union Cabinet’s recommendation to the President for President’s Rule in Meghalaya is an ‘unwarranted’ and ‘unprecedented’ decision. “We will support the NCP on this issue,” he said.

A Shillong bench of the Gauhati High Court headed by Justice T Vaiphei had asked the Speaker and the other respondents as to why it should not quash Lanong’s order for interim suspension of the MLAs. The Court is expected to pass an interim verdict on the petition filed by independent MLAs Paul Lyngdoh and Limison Sangma and that of three other legislators Ismail R Marak, Advisor Pariong and Sabor Shullai.

On the other hand, BJP slammed Congress stating that the party was desperate for power. D. D. Lapang claimed that the Congress was not instrumental in influencing President’s Rule in Meghalaya. But this irked the BJP which said that NECCC general secretary Shariff Lashkar admitted in New Delhi that the “Congress had worked overtime to break down the MPA.”
State BJP general secretary Dipayan Chakraborty in a statement said that “In the Congress party, the right hand does not know what the left says.” He said that Lashkar also stated that the party wanted to see the Congress comes back to power in Meghalaya.
“This shows that the Congress is desperate for power as the party understands that its days are numbered in Delhi. So before the Lok Sabha elections it is in a hurry to come back to power by forcibly dislodging the MPA Government,” Chakraborty claimed.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader Dr Mukul Sangma said that the Congress is exploring possibilities to form a new government in the State with other political parties, barring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The State that was brought under the Central rule has to form a new government. The Central rule came in after Governor RS Mooshahary reported of “constitutional breakdown” in the State.
Addressing a news conference on Friday, Dr Sangma said that after the promulgation of President’s Rule in the State, the Congress will install the next government. He said, “The Congress is exploring all possibilities to install a new democratic government in the State as early as possible.” However, the Congress leader said that his party will not forge any alliance with the BJP. “We are in touch with all political parties and their leaders except the BJP since it is not a secular party”, Dr Sangma said, adding that the Congress hoped that they will form the government for the interest of the State and its people. He said the Congress would like to forge an alliance with the UDP and NCP.

Criticizing NCP leader Purno A Sangma for threatening to launch agitation against President’s Rule in the North-East, Dr Sangma said that the NCP leader and his MPA partners are responsible for imposition of President’s Rule. He said, “Though they (MPA) are the ones responsible for bringing about PR in the State, the MPA and Purno continue to blame the Congress. They are just trying to wash off their hands clean after realizing their mistakes,” he said. Reiterating that the 10th Schedule of the Constitution was to prevent defection of legislators from any political party. Dr Sangma said, “The 10th Schedule was used in Meghalaya to save the minority government.”

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