New Delhi: The President on Tuesday called Union home minister Rajnath Singh and put some queries to him on the need for the imposition of President’s Rule even as the Congress, the ruling party in the state, met him and opposed the Cabinet decision.
The Congress urged the President not to give his assent, saying the issue was before the Supreme Court which has decided to hear the Congress petition on Wednesday.
The petition seeking urgent hearing was mentioned before Chief Justice T.S. Thakur at his residence and he directed the matter to be listed for hearing on Wednesday.
Other major Opposition parties had also attacked the Centre’s decision, saying it amounted to "murder" of democracy, while the BJP said the crisis was of the Congress’ making because it had lost numbers in the Assembly.
Arunachal Pradesh has been rocked by a political crisis since December 16 last year when 21 rebel Congress MLAs joined hands with 11 of the BJP and two Independents to "impeach" Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia at a makeshift venue, a move branded as "illegal and unconstitutional" by the Speaker.
The Union Cabinet’s decision to impose President’s Rule was based on state governor J.P. Rajkhowa’s report.
Up in arms against then state chief minister Nabam Tuki, 21 rebel party MLAs, including 14 disqualified a day before, with the help of the BJP and Independent legislators, congregated at a community hall after the state Assembly complex was "sealed" by the local administration and "impeached" Mr Rebia in an impromptu session chaired by deputy speaker T. Norbu Thongdok.
Twenty-seven MLAs in the 60-member Assembly, including the CM and his ministerial colleagues, boycotted the proceedings.
A day later, in a bizarre turn of events, the Opposition BJP and rebel Congress MLAs gathered in a local hotel to "vote out" CM Nabam Tuki and "elect" a rebel Congress MLA in his place, but the Gauhati high court intervened to keep in "abeyance" decisions taken at the rebel "session".
The then CM had also written to the President 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 the governor.
