Angry over the move to impose President’s Rule in party-ruled Arunachal Pradesh, the Congress on Monday approached President Pranab Mukherjee, the Supreme Court and sought to rally round non-BJP chief
Angry over the move to impose President’s Rule in party-ruled Arunachal Pradesh, the Congress on Monday approached President Pranab Mukherjee, the Supreme Court and sought to rally round non-BJP chief ministers, declaring an “all-out war” against the “trampling” of the Constitution by the Modi government.
“The Constitution is being trampled upon. Just a day before Republic Day, the Union Cabinet is taking such a decision. We will fight an all-out war. We will fight in Parliament, in court and along with people. Will tell them how democracy is being endangered,” Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters.
The Cabinet’s recommendation to impose President’s Rule is uniting anti-BJP parties, setting the tone of the Budget Session of Parliament beginning next month. While the JD(U), AAP and the CPI have opposed this decision, the Trinamul Congress, BJD, AIADMK and the SAD have yet to take a stand on it.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said: “Imposing President’s Rule in Arunachal is a blatant bid to topple a duly-elected govt. Modiji, you talk about federalism but murder democracy. You talk about cooperation but use every means to coerce. The Congress Party will fight this attack on our Constitution, on our democracy, on the people’s mandate.”
After meeting the President, along with a party delegation, Mr Azad contended that destabilising the sensitive state bordering China was fraught with dangerous consequences for all non-BJP states which could be made unstable “through governors”.
Party leader Kapil Sibal, a noted lawyer, said it was “shocking” that the governor had recommended President’s Rule in spite of an assurance by his lawyer in the Supreme Court that “no precipitate action” would be taken.
“It is an act to mislead the apex court. We will seek justice,” Mr Sibal said.
In the memorandum, the party told the President that “this is the first time since Independence that such a recommendation has been made to impose President’s Rule in the midst of a court hearing”.
It also enclosed a “summary of events” detailing the “disquieting events leading to the governor’s illegal actions”.
Expressing confidence that he would do justice in the matter, the Congress leaders requested the President to reflect upon what is stated in the ‘summary of events’ and take that into account while dealing with the memorandum.
Besides Arunachal chief minister Nabam Tuki and PCC chief Padi Richo, the memorandum is signed by Mr Azad, Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarun Kharge, Mr Sibal and AICC general secretary V Narainsamy.
Mr Sibal said “the Governor creates the crisis in Arunachal Pradesh and then he asks the Union Government to impose President’s Rule in the state”.
“The pre-planned manner in which the Governor has acted at the instance of 11 BJP MLAs is a violation of all established constitutional procedures”, the Congress delegation told the President adding that the recommendation made to him was “disturbing to say the least”.
This, the delegation said, was because a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court has been hearing the matter daily from January 15.
“Perhaps, this government does not wish the Court to adjudicate upon the matter by presenting it with a fait accompli of a proclamation under Art 356”, the President was told.
Mr Sibal claimed that the government apprehended that in case the judgment goes against them, it will have enormous impact not only on the Governor but also on the central government because they are party to all this. They do not want that to happen.
Earlier at the AICC briefing Mr Sibal said the Centre’s real agenda is to de-stabilise all non-BJP dispensations.
“ All non-BJP chief ministers should sit together, all these political parties in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha should together raise this issue in the House not just about Arunachal Pradesh as to how the office of Governor is being denigrated in this fashion,” Mr Sibal said.
He also charged the government with not being interested in smooth functioning of the coming budget session of parliament and has, therefore, taken such a decision which reflected its policy of “coercive federalism”.
His refrain was: “the Union government’s agenda is to destabilise all non-BJP led governments through the office of the Governor. Arunachal Pradesh is just one such example.”
Mr Sibal insisted that the recent events in Arunachal Pradesh have demonstrated how the Governor, BJP and the central government “conspired to destabilise a democratically-elected government.”
“The Prime Minister as also BJP chief Amit Shah and RSS are all involved in this and that is why the Governor has acted.”
“On the eve of Republic Day, the Modi government is celebrating the values of our Republic by using the office of the Governor to destabilize a state and then using that as an excuse to recommend President’s rule.”, he alleged.
The recommendation to impose President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh reflects the “intolerant mindset” of the union government. Cooperative federalism has been “thrown into the dust-bin and ‘coercive federalism’ is the order of the day,” Mr Sibal claimed.
He said even this government knows that this recommendation, even if approved by the President, will not muster support in the Rajya Sabha. They know that it cannot last. It will be rejected. “ So, I ask this question to the Prime Minister that when you know that such a proclamation cannot succeed, why you have issued it. He will never give you the answer, he is our most silent Prime Minister,” he said.
“I will give you that answer. They want to form the Government before February 20th or 22d whenever the budget session will start. This is most unfortunate but then you cannot expect anything more from a Prime Minister who says that let the opposition speak whatever they like in three years and he will do some miracle in the last two years that the citizens of this country will support me like it has been done in Gujarat,” Mr Sibal said.
There should be a national debate and the Prime Minister should be asked to justify not only what is happening in Arunachal Pradesh or what the Governor has done but also what other Governors are doing by carrying forward the RSS agenda in those states, he said.
A Governor has to summon the House and prorogue the House on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. You know that. In this case, on Novermber 3rd 2015, the House (Arunachal Pradesh Assembly ) had been summoned for January 14th 2016 and at the instance of 11 Members of the BJP, the Governor unilaterally, without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, decided to pre-pone the House to December 16-18th . It has never happened before,he said.
