In a major political setback to the BJP and the Centre, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the “clock should be turned back” and ordered the Congress government of Nabam Tuki in Arunachal Pradesh restored by quashing all decisions of the governor that had precipitated its fall in January, holding them “violative” of the Constitution. Mr Tuki took charge as chief minister again at Arunachal Bhavan here on Wednesday night.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi deliberated the apex court’s order and its implications with senior ministers and explored the way forward, including a review petition to be filed, possibly by Kalikho Pul who has been unseated by the apex court’s order. Home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi and top government officials also met at the home ministry and examined the apex court ruling and its implications, official sources said.
While social media was abuzz with the Opposition tearing into the BJP and the Centre over the Supreme Court verdict, the BJP said it found the order “strange”.
BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said, “It’s a strange order and that is why it is being studied. The person who has the majority, who is running the government at present, is being asked to be in the Opposition.”
The judgment of the five-judge Constitution Bench on Wednesday set aside, among other things, governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa’s message directing the advancing of the session and the manner of holding the proceedings of the sixth session of the Assembly from December 16-18, 2015 to January 14, 2016.
After Uttarakhand, the top court’s order came as another shot in the arm for the Congress. In May this year, the BJP was left red-faced in Uttarakhand where the judiciary restored the dismissed Congress state government. Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat eventually won the floor test.
With the apex court’s order being delivered before the start of the Monsoon Session, Parliament is set to see a more combative Congress try to pin down the Centre on the issue. The Congress had already indicated that it would target the government in both Houses of Parliament for the “murder of democracy”.
Before the Supreme Court order, Arunachal Pradesh was being ruled by Congress rebel
MLAs supported by the BJP. The People’s Party of Arunachal, comprising Congress rebels led by chief minister Kalikho Pul, has a numerical strength of 30 MLAs and was supported by 11 BJP MLAs. In a House of 60, Mr Pul enjoyed the support of 43 MLAs, including of two Independent MLAs. The Congress’ Nabam Tuki has 15 MLAs in his kitty. A floor test is expected to be held to pick the winning side but no date has so far been fixed.
Mr Shrikant Sharma said the “order certainly raises a question as to whether it strengthens the democratic spirit or weakens it. This is a question as it appears from the verdict that the one having a majority is being asked to sit in the Opposition and the one who has lost it is being asked to run the government”. Mr Sharma added that “in a democracy, the one with the numbers runs the government. The numbers are with the current chief minister, not Tuki.”
The Supreme Court’s order might have delivered a blow to the BJP’s attempts to achieve a “Congress-mukt Bharat (Congress-free Bharat)”, but party insiders say they were “hopeful” as far as Meghalaya was concerned. In Meghalaya, dissident activity against Congress chief minister Mukul Sharma has been gathering momentum. In Nagaland, Congress MLAs are switching over to the BJP and infighting is brewing in the Congress state unit in Manipur. In Tripura the Congress’ Leader of the Opposition, Sudip Roy Burman, has switched over to the Trinamul Congress. “Congress might have won a battle, but we are preparing for a war,” a senior BJP functionary said.
