Guwahati: In a new twist to the ongoing political drama, the Gauhati High Court on Thursday kept in abeyance all decisions, including the removal of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Nebam Rebia, at a special "session" on Thursday, hours after Chief Minister Nabam Tuki was "voted out" and a dissident Congressman was "elected" as CM in a hotel.
Coming down heavily on the notification issued by Governor J P Rajkhowa advancing the session, Justice Hrishikesh Roy observed that prima facie it was in violation of Art 174 and 175 of the Constitution dealing with convening of the session Governor and his message to House.
The court order came on a writ petition filed by the Speaker challenging the Dec 9 notification issued by the Governor advancing the Assembly session to December 16 from the scheduled day of January 24, 2016.
Earlier today, in a bizarre turn of events, Opposition BJP and rebel Congress MLAs got together in a local hotel to "vote out" the Nabam Tuki-led Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh and to "elect" a rebel Congress MLA as the new "chief minister".
The dramatic development came a day after they "impeached" Speaker Nabam Rebia in a make-shift "Assembly" premises in a community hall.
Issuing notice, Justice Hrishikesh Roy kept in abeyance the impugned decisions including the notification issued by the Deputy Speaker restoring the membership of 14 suspended MLAs and the holding of the "session" at a new place and also the decision taken at the "session" yesterday in which the Speaker was removed.
The judge allowed petitioner Kapil Sibal to implead the government of Arunachal Pradesh as a party respondent. He posted the case for next hearing on February 1, 2016. Eleven BJP MLAs and two Independent MLAs joined hands with 20 Congress rebels to meet at a conference hall of a hotel here as the Assembly premises have been sealed since yesterday.
Today, a "no confidence" motion moved by BJP MLAs and Independent MLAs was "adopted" with Deputy Speaker T Norbu Thongdok, who is also a rebel Congressman, in the Chair.
A total 33 members of the 60-member house, including 20 dissident Congress MLAs, later "elected" another dissident Congressman Kalikho Pul as the new "chief minister" of the state. The Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and his 26 supporting MLAs boycotted the proceedings terming them as "illegal and unconstitutional".
The Chief Minister later wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking their intervention to "uphold" the Constitution in the face of the "unprecedented murder" of democracy and "bypassing" of a democratically-elected government by Governor Jyoti Prashad Rajkhowa.
Angry over the Governor's action in calling a session of the Assembly bypassing the government the Congress has paralysed the Rajya Sabha for the last two days. Yesterday, a delegation led by Congress President Sonia Gandhi met President Mukherjee in Delhi and lodged a strong protest against Rajkhowa.
Read: Arunachal Pradesh: Nabam Tuki govt shown 'no confidence', rebel Congress MLA chosen as new CM
"It is clear that the BJP top leadership in connivance with some dissident Congress MLAs planned to destabilize the democratically-elected Congress Government in Arunachal Pradesh.
"This is obviously a pre-planned design involving the highest functionaries of the Central Government in this unprincipled enterprise," the Congress chief told reporters after handing over a memorandum to the President.
Today's "proceedings" were held in the new venue as the make-shift premises where Speaker Nabam Rebia was 'impeached' yesterday was vandalised by miscreants and the MLAs opposing Tuki were not allowed to enter the Assembly premises by security forces.
As per directive of the Speaker, the district administration has sealed the Assembly premises since yesterday. The MLAs then with "due consent" from Governor J P Rajkhowa shifted the venue to the conference hall of a in Naharlagun.
The "session", which was chaired by Deputy Speaker T Norbu Thongdok passed the motion by voice vote and signature consent by 33 members in the absence of 26 Congress MLAs including Tuki and his council of ministers.
Thongdok announced Pul as the "new Leader of the House" and said that the "proceedings" would be sent to the Governor who would ask the new chief minister and his council of ministers to take the oath of office shortly.
