After the unprecedented Winter Session of the House on Wednesday morning, the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister convened a meeting of the State Cabinet and resolved that all or any resolution passed in Wednesday’s session of the State legislative Assembly is contrary to law and that it has made mockery of the Constitution of India.
A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office in Arunachal Pradesh said this on Wednesday and expressed sadness that the high offices of the Deputy Speaker and the Governor are being misused as tools of political conspiracy to topple the present democratically elected Government in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Today, both of the said high offices have become nothing more than mere extension offices of the Central Government, which has uprooted the very concept of cooperative federalism enshrined in the Constitution of India,” the statement said adding that the action of Deputy Speaker-holding session of Arunachal Pradesh legislative Assembly outside Vidhan Sabha is not only patently illegal and unconstitutional but also is a part of larger conspiracy hatched amongst disqualified Congress MlAs, BJP MlAs, Central Government, Deputy Speaker and the Governor.
“Under the provisions of the Constitution of India, the Deputy Speaker does not have any jurisdiction or power to sit over in appeal and quash decisions of the Speaker. The aforesaid 14 Congress MlAs were disqualified since they had voluntarily given up their membership as interpreted by the Supreme Court in several judgments. This disqualified was strictly in terms of Article 191 (2) read with Schedule 10 of the Constitution of India, Para 2 (1) (a), 6 (1) & (2) and Rule 3 (7) and 6 of the Members of Arunachal Pradesh legislative Assembly (Disqualification on ground of defection) Rules, 1987,” it said adding that even if the said Order and Notification is incorrect, the Deputy Speaker cannot in law quash the same.
“The Deputy Speaker has by purportedly quashing the said Order and Notification has even usurped the role of Judiciary in the present matter. This is highly objectionable and improper,” it said.
The Cabinet further resolved that the Constitution of India does not vest any power on the Deputy