Azad referred to court’s prima facie observation and said the governor’s decision to “prepone the assembly session without the advice of chief minister…taints the governor’s order and renders it unworthy of state’s constitutional head”. Tuki further added that the action of the Governor was not justified and legal.
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Defending Rajkhowa’s move, he alleged that a section of Congress leaders were bent on lowering the sanctity of the governor’s post. He said media and the entire country are discussing the issue. While the timing of the conversation is not known, it has been claimed that Pul was speaking to Romeo Neog, a businessman from Assam. “When a political party that has played all the dirty tricks in the world acts like an injured party and takes its battles to the President, we as citizens should take the drama with a pinch of salt”. “I am a very secular person and not against any community or religion”.
The court will hear the arguments on February 2 next. “We have no faith in central government when it comes to delivery of justice”, Azad said.
He said at another point the court had observed that “the impugned steps taken by the state’s governor…reflects the non neutral role of the constitutional head and this is undermining the democratic process”.
Having removed Speaker Nabam Rebia a day earlier, they chose Kalikho Pul as the new chief minister.
Congress members started raising slogans. The move came after Congress MLAs supporting Tuki served an impeachment motion against Thongdok with the same charge on November 16. This is has raised the political temperature in the state and triggered off a debate over the powers enjoyed by a governor.
This has been a regular practice with them ever since the Delhi High Court on December 7 rejected the plea of the Congress top leadership not to appear before a court in the National Herald newspaper case. The petitioner argued that the Governor’s decision to reschedule the Assembly was in violation of Articles 174 and 175 of the Constitution.
The High Court, in its order, has termed the Governor’s action “tainted” and únworthy’ of a state’s constitutional head.
“The people of the state have duly exercised their franchise and elected a majority Congress government which is carrying out its development and governance duties in right earnest and in full interest of the people of the state”, he said. He said the centre was responsible for the stalemate in Parliament for the past few days. The Governor, upset with the High Court verdict, also announced that he will appeal against the verdict. “Politicians will adopt any means but if the Governor becomes partisan, then it is indeed unfortunate for constitutional democracy”.
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The stay order has cooled down tempers – though temporarily – but there is every possibility of the situation boiling over again, as the BJP, which has been accused of trying to topple Nabam Tuki’s Congress, will now get more than six weeks to wean away more Congress legislators.
