Disqualify 5 defectors, PPA to Speaker

from OUR CORRESPONDENT

Itagar, April 10: The People’s Party of Aruchal (PPA) today filed petitions before state legislative assembly speaker bam Rebia under the Tenth Schedule of the constitution seeking disqualification of its five former MLAs for deserting the party in December last year.

Five PPA MLAs - Pani Taram representing Koloriang constituency, P D So (Mechuka), Wanglam Sawin (Khonsa East), Tirong Aboh (Khonsa West) and Nikh Kamin (Bordumsa-Diyun) deserted the party on December 19 last year and joined the Congress in lock-stock and barrel. “The entire process of merger was completed in a single day by the Speaker without following the laid down procedures,” PPA president Kahfa Bengia told reporters here. Bengia, who filed the petitions, further informed that the party would soon file a writ petition against the assembly speaker for violating the tenth schedule of the constitution.

He said the party after apprehending such a move had served intimation to the speaker not to entertain any merger. Interestingly, the speaker instead of observing the laid down constitutiol provisions admitted the MLAs into the Congress party and issued a bulletin on the same day, he added.

 “The way in which the speaker anointed the five MLAs as Congress men in connivance with Chief Minister bam Tuki, had defeated the tenth scheduled. Under Rule 4 of the anti-defection law, any MLA who wishes to merge with another party has to state his party change in statutory form III,” PPA secretary general Kaling Jerang disclosed.

“The MLAs did not state so while filing the Form III before the speaker and until they consequently change their party status to Congress in the form, the speaker has not the power to treat them as Congress members, which is unconstitutiol and illegal” Jerang pointed out.

 He further alleged that after the MLAs file their statutory information in form III, Tuki, the leader of the Congress legislature party, should file information about additions of the members to the party’s fold in Form I of the anti-defection rule, which he did not followed.

Jerang said that merger of MLA from one party to another had to be endorsed by the rank and file of the party as per judgement of the Supreme Court. Surprisingly the MLAs did not endorse the same from the party functiories and instead forged the sigture of the party’s chairman and obtained sigtures of 117 persons who were not party workers, he added.

Party’s working committee Chairman Kamen Ringu informed that Bordumsa MLA Nikh Kamin who was the party president at that point of time was impeached on December 4, 2014, but he signed as the party president during the time of merger.

Terming defecting as the ‘chronic disease’ of the state, Ringu said that because of defection regiol political parties cannot grow in the state.

“The merger was a pre-planned strategy of the Congress chief minister bam Tuki who indirectly helped the PPA MLAs to win the April 19 assembly elections in the state last year to defeat some of the Congress MLAs who could pose political threat to him,” alleged Bengia.

During the Rajya Sabha election last year the PPA MLAs supported Congress candidate Mukut Mithi despite party’s instruction to them to abstain from voting, Bengia said to drive home his point.

The lone regiol party of the state formed in 1977, today also celebrated its 38th foundation day.