3 min readImphalJun 20, 2020 11:13 PM IST
First published on: Jun 20, 2020 at 11:13 PM IST
Former Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh. (Source: PTI/File)
Former Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh Saturday said the Congress-led Secular Progressive Front (SPF) alliance has no option left but to approach court on the alleged abuse of power by the ruling BJP in the state.
Ibobi Singh’s statement comes two days after the SPF submitted a joint memorandum to the state government seeking a special Assembly session to adopt a resolution against the coalition government led by N. Biren Singh.
The Front also moved for a no-confidence motion against Manipur Speaker Y. Khemchand Singh for alleged abuse of power with regards to the disqualification cases of seven Congress turncoats.
SPF is a newly formed alliance comprising Congress party, the main opposition, National People’s Party (NPP) and a few MLAs of other parties, including three MLAs of the BJP who have defected to Congress.
Singh said the no-confidence motion against the government has been rejected twice even as the plea for the motion for floor test has not materialised. “As per the law, if a major ally of a coalition government withdraws its support, the government becomes a minority. But allowing the present government to continue is illegal. The Governor should conduct a floor test without much delay so that the party that can prove majority claims stake to forming a new government,” said Singh.
The former Congress CM further said that an SPF delegation including him met the Governor Friday evening and discussed the issue at length. The same day, amid the political turmoil, the election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat of the state was held with the BJP winning the seat with 28 votes.
However, the opposition party was resentful as three of the seven MLAs facing disqualification were allowed to vote while the remaining, including another MLA from TMC, were disqualified. Apart from barring the seven MLAs from entering the Assembly, the High Court has also directed the Speaker not to pronounce the judgment of the disqualification cases till Friday.
Ibobi Singh expressed his discontentment over the alleged partiality and undermining of the law by the Speaker with regards to the judgment of the disqualification case.
“When all the MLAs are in the same case for the same reason, how could the Speaker disqualify only four? It is a very shameful act,” he said.
The Congress party could have easily won the RS seat had the Speaker not allowed the three defected MLAs, Ibobi Singh maintained.
Manipur is in grave political crisis after four NPP members, including three Ministers, a Trinamool Congress MLA and an Independent MLA withdrew their support from the BJP-led coalition state government Wednesday. The breakaway group then forged an alliance with the Congress party taking the strength of the opposition to 27.
Former Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh. (Source: PTI/File)
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