Doctor Singh an ‘ordinary resident’ of Guwahati

When Dr Manmohan Singh becomes the Prime Minister, Assam will have at least one reason to rejoice: Manmohan Singh is not just an MP from her...

When Dr Manmohan Singh becomes the Prime Minister, Assam will have at least one reason to rejoice: Manmohan Singh is not just an MP from here, but also an ‘‘ordinary resident’’ of Guwahati.

Singh’s controversial residential status dates back to June 1991 when, after being appointed as Finance minister in the Narasimha Rao government without becoming a Member of Parliament, he had to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Assam.

It was Hiteswar Saikia, then Assam chief minister, who helped Singh procure a back-dated ration card, and issued him rent receipts for a part of his own house in Guwahati proving that Singh was an ‘‘ordinary resident’’ of Assam, as required under the provisions of the Representation of People’s Act.

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Singh also filed for inclusion of his name in the electoral rolls of Dispur Assembly segment. His name was included in the electoral rolls on September 11, making him a resident of Guwahati, at the same time, his name was deleted from the electoral rolls of Delhi, where his name was registered.

Since then, Manmohan Singh has made it to the Rajya Sabha thrice in a row from Assam — the last being in June 2001 soon after the Congress government headed by Tarun Gogoi took over in Assam.

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