In a setback to Arunachal Pradesh Governor JP Rajkhowa, the Gauhati High Court on Thursday stayed till February 1 the entire proceedings of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly, including the removal of Speaker Nebam Rebia and subsequent action taken by the Deputy Speaker of the House.
Coming down heavily on the notification issued by the Governor advancing the session to December 16 from the scheduled day of January 24, 2016, a bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy observed that prima facie the Governor’s decision was in violation of Articles 174 and 175 of the Constitution. The court order came on a writ petition filed by the Speaker challenging the December 9 notification by the Governor.
Appearing on behalf of the Speaker, Kapil Sibal alleged that the Governor had taken the decision to convene the session of the House without consulting the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers and that it was taken at the behest of a certain political party.
Earlier in the day, 21 rebel Congress legislators, 11 BJP legislators and two independent MlAs participated in the second day of the Winter Session of the House with Deputy Speaker T Norbu Thongdok in the chair at the conference hall of a hotel and moved a No Confidence Motion against Chief Minister Nabam Tuki-led Government. The Arunachal Assembly has 60 MlAs.
The House passed the No Confidence Motion by voice vote and signature of 33 members. The rest of the MlAs —including Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and his Council of Ministers — abstained from the session.
The 33 members of the House also elected another dissident Congress legislator Kalikho Pul as the new ‘Chief Minister’ of the State.
leader of the Opposition Tamiyo Taga tabled the motion in the House and alleged that the members of the Assembly have been experiencing lack of confidence in the Council of Ministers led by Tuki since April this year due to misgovernance, mismanagement, nepotism and corruption.
“It is a Congress Government with absolute majority of 47 members but looking at the situation, we are compelled to bring this motion,” Taga, a BJP MlA, said while tabling the motion. He also supported Kalikho Pul as the next Chief Minister of the State.
Independent MlA Paknga Bage too extended his support to Pul. On the first day of the Winter Session on Wednesday, the legislators passed an impeachment motion against Speaker Nabam Rebia on a voice vote.
The venue of the Session was, however, shifted to the hotel from the community hall on Thursday with ‘due consent’ from the Governor as some miscreants vandalised the community hall on Wednesday night where the 33 legislators had passed the impeachment motion against the Speaker.
Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, has written to the Prime Minister and the President of India seeking their intervention over Governor’s move. He said that the Governor is committing ‘murder of democracy by bypassing a democratically elected Government and acting in contravention of the provisions and ideals of the Constitution of India.