The case pertaining to the election petition in the Supreme Court, filed by the AICC on behalf of the NPCC for disqualifying seven of the eight former Congress legislators who merged with NPF, has reached an interesting phase.
The disqualification petition is the second, after the NCP disqualification petition in the Supreme Court against three NPC legislators who merged with BJP
The Supreme Court a few days back, had re-directed the case to the Gauhati High Court, principal bench and asked that the case be disposed off within eight(8)weeks. The Supreme Court had also separated the AICC case from the other case filed by the NCP. That means, both cases will be taken up separately.
Both cases are somewhat interlinked technically as they involve the grounds under which the Speaker had taken the decision(s) over the issue of ‘merger’ on different occasions. After the eight suspended Congress MLAs eventually merged with the NPF in September 2015, the NPCC moved for disqualification of seven by the Nagaland Speaker. One legislator was out of the purview after being elected deputy speaker.
The issue revolves around the eight former Congress legislators who joined the T.R .Zeliang ministry during April 2015 in defiance of the AICC’s stand not to be in the same government with the BJP. The Congress sources said the Speaker rejected the NPCC petition on the ground that seven Congress MLAs made up more than the required 2/3rd of the total number of the legislator group and also in the light of an earlier ruling by the Gauhati High Court which had recognised the merger of three NCP legislators with the BJP.
Following the Speaker’s ruling, the AICC then approached the Supreme Court directly. According to Congress sources, the AICC had not gone to the High Court since the latter in the NCP-BJP case , ruled that the merger with BJP was in line with the Anti Defection Law/Tenth Schedule.
Both sides-former Congress MLAs (now NPF) and NPCC– expressed optimism about the Supreme Court decision. One of the NPF legislator told Nagaland Post, that the issue was clear, that the high court ruling , as in the earlier case would be along similar lines. NPCC sources however said that the AICC will contest the interpretation of the Tenth Schedule under Sections 2 & 4. Under Section 2, the sources said the defectors had “voluntarily” given up membership of the Congress for the loaves and fishes of office and on Section 4, the original party-INC had not merged with the NPF.