Arunchal Pradesh verdict: SC quashes President’s rule, restores Congress govt,Nabam Tuki, Arunachal Pradesh, President rule, Congress government, Governor J P Rajkhowa, Supreme court ,Arunachal Pradesh
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- Category: North East Political News
- Last Updated: Wednesday, 13 July 2016 16:26
Arunchal Pradesh verdict: SC quashes President’s rule, restores Congress govt,Nabam Tuki, Arunachal Pradesh, President rule,Congressgovernment,Governor J P Rajkhowa,Supreme court ,Arunachal Pradesh
Delivering a major blow to the BJP government at the Centre, the Supreme Court on Wednesday restored Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh after quashing the President’s Rule.
A five-judge Constitution Bench, in an unanimous and unprecedented verdict, quashed all the decisions of the Governor that had led to imposition of the President’s Rule in the state, calling his actions as “illegal” and violative of the Constitutional provisions.
The bench held that status quo ante as prevailing on December 15, 2015 — when Nabam Tuki headed the Congress government in the state — shall be restored.
“All steps and decisions taken by Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly pursuant to the Governor’s decisions are unsustainable and the same are therefore set aside,” held the bench.
Nabam Tuki, reaction to the decision, said: “the court has saved the country and constitution. We have got justice.”
Following the decisions by Governor J P Rajkhowa, the Assembly session was preponed, a new speaker was elected and later based on his report, the President’s Rule was imposed. Even as the top court was hearing the matter, the proclamation was lifted and rebel Congress leader Kalikho Pul was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the new government.
This is the first order by the Supreme Court reinstating a government in a state even after it had been replaced by a new government.
A very relieved Nabam Tuki has appealed to his former colleagues and fellow Congress MLAs who had defected to the Kaliko Pul-led People’s Party of Arunachal Pradesh (PPAP) to return to the Congress fold.
“Khaliko Pul was running an illegal, unconstitutional government. That has been made clear by the Supreme Court ruling today. Some of my Congress colleagues who defected to that side should realise this and come back to us. I appeal to my old colleagues to come back to the party and work for the real development of Arunachal Pradesh,” he told .
When Mr. Pul had proven his majority in the Assembly, he had the support of 40 MLAs, 27 of whom were from the Congress, 11 from the BJP and two independents.
Mr. Pul, in fact, stuck to his numerically proven majority in the Assembly when he spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the grand North Eastern Democratic Alliance (the northeastern offshoot of the NDA) function being held in Guwahati. “Politics is a game of numbers, we have the numbers,” he said.
BJP general secretary in charge of the northeastern state Ram Madhav refused to comment on the particulars of the ruling. He said the party needed to go into it. “We will examine the matter before commenting.”
Mr. Tuki, in response, said his next move would be to call a meeting of his MLAs and try and get as many of his former colleagues to return.