President's Rule is absurd: Game of Thrones in Arunachal
The "game of thrones" being played out in Arunachal shows the vulnerability of India's constitutional democracy. After the defeats in Bihar and Delhi and consistent with Modi-Amit Shah's political record, it was easy for them to resurrect the "win-by-fair-and-foul" formula.
In April 2014, the Congress won a magnificent majority (47 seats in a 60-member House to the BJP's 11 and Independents' two seats; and were set to rule till 2019. The BJP, however, had other plans.
On June 1, 2015, BJP inducted governor JP Rajkhowa. On July 21, 2015, the fifth session ended and on November 3, 2015, the Assembly was adjourned to January 14, 2016 with the Cabinet's consent. The period in between is called intersession which can be put to better use than bringing down majority governments.
Intersession
But India has a terrible history of aaya ram, gaya ram defections, right from around 1967-72 and after. The blow could come from anyone. Governments fall in and out of session. Intersession is a favourite time for conspiracy.
In November 2015, some Congress MLAs supported by the BJP gave notice to remove the speaker. On December 7, 2015, Congress's chief whip (Rajesh Taco) filed a petition before the speaker to disqualify 14 Congress dissidents, including the deputy speaker under the anti-defection provisions in the Tenth Schedule.
Then 13 MLAs (11 BJP and two Independents) asked the governor to prepone the Assembly for removing the speaker; and the deputy speaker to take over the sixth session.
Two parallel activities proceeded at loggerheads.
The speaker continued his Tenth Schedule "judicial" power to disqualify 14 dissidents. In retrospect, that attempt failed because proper notice was not given. But by December 15, they were disqualified, unless a high court reversed or stayed there disqualification. The second parallel stream of activity came from the governor on December 9, who called the house (which he cannot summon without the CM's consent), directing the removal of the speaker as the first item on the agenda (which was impermissible because the house is the master of its proceedings and 14 days' notice had to be given to remove the speaker after the resolution was tabled).
On December 16 and 17, the speaker was removed at an illegal Community Hall Meeting of the legislature (also illegal). The deputy speaker (himself disqualified) set aside all disqualifications. The House decided that CM Nabam Tuki be replaced by Kalikho Pul. The coup was complete. But governor Rajkhowa was already planning to use the ultimate brahmastra: President's Rule to collapse democracy and federalism. When governors become partisan pawns, they disease the Constitution.
Manipulation
Meanwhile, the high court and later the Supreme Court intervened and heard the challenge to the governor and speaker's orders. While the SC was hearing the case day-to-day, the brahmastra of President's Rule was released on January 26, 2016, and revoked on February 17 to swear in a rebel Congress government with the support of the BJP, with the Congress in opposition! What an absurdity manipulated by the BJP and its partisan governor. The pattern is an all too familiar blow - manipulating the situation all the way.
Defections have destroyed parliamentary government in the states. In principle, defections are a fraud on the electorate.
The Constitutional Tenth Schedule amendments of 1985 and 2003 virtually put an end to defections, with the speaker as the adjudicating authority recognised by the SC in Kihoto (1992).
A procedural error by the speaker cannot take his jurisdiction away. In Arunachal, his removal was insidious. Under the Tenth Schedule, dissidents can no longer split a party. They can resign from a party by words or actions. They can merge with another party (ie BJP), if two thirds decide to do so. But merger was not the case here. The anti-defection provisions were designed to preserve inner party integrity. With the governor's help, they were destroyed in letter and spirit.
Transparency
The people are entitled to know how much money was paid by the BJP to the Congress dissidents. Transparency requires exposing how democracy was bought and sold. The governor should be removed. He behaved like a saboteur, indulging in political and constitutional terrorism.
Appointments to governorship need careful consideration. President's Rule should be abolished. If parliamentary democracy at the Centre can be run without it, there is no reason why it cannot be run without President's Rule in the state. This will not leave a vacuum.
Article 352 permits the president to declare an Emergency "for India or any part of the territory thereof threatened whether by war or external aggression or armed rebellion". Such an emergency can be for the whole of India (as in 1962 and 1975 - of course unwarranted) "or of such part of the territory as may be specified".
We must be wary of general emergencies. But under such emergencies, parliamentary government in the states continues unlike President's Rule.
Clearly the President's Rule copied from the British legislation of 1935 must go! There is one other absurdity. A rebel faction of the Congress is in government with the BJP support. The opposition is also Congress. The Congress government in power is vulnerable.
The Congress in Arunachal must get its act together and combine the two warring groups - even if this means that the erstwhile CM Nabam Tuki is replaced. Congress, get your act together. Put BJP back in opposition as it was earlier.
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)