Congress to approach SC if President's Rule imposed in Arunachal Pradesh

New Delhi: A day after Cabinet recommended President's Rule amid the ongoing political crisis in Arunachal Pradesh, the Congress party will now approach the Supreme Court. The party is now waiting for President Pranab Mukherjee's decision on the issue.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be meeting Mukherjee at 2 PM to discuss the issue.

The Congress is crying foul over the recommendation. "Decision of preponing the elections was taken without taking Chief Minister into confidence. Raj Bhawan is now a BJP headquarter and the Governor is acting as BJP's agent. We will take up the issue politically," said Congress leader V Narayansamy.

Lashing out at the Centre, Chief Minister Nabam Tuki said, "I cannot understand why the Union Cabinet is in such a hurry when the matter is pending in the Supreme Court. They could have waited for the court verdict and the Republic Day function to be over. Never President's Rule is imposed in Arunachal. This is a wrong decision and politically motivated. This shows the vendetta of the NDA governments to ruling congress."

The decision on the President's Rule was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is learnt that the Cabinet also recommended that the state Assembly be kept under suspended animation.

Arunachal Pradesh was rocked by a political crisis on December 16, 2015 as 21 rebel Congress MLAs joined hands with 11 of BJP and two independents to 'impeach' Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia at a makeshift venue, in a move branded as "illegal and unconstitutional" by the Speaker.

Up in arms against Congress Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, 21 rebel party MLAs, including 14 disqualified a day before, with the help of BJP and independent legislators, congregated at a community hall after the state Assembly complex was 'sealed' by the local administration, and 'impeached' Rebia in an impromptu session chaired by Deputy Speaker T Norbu Thongdok.

27 MLAs in 60-member Assembly, including the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues, boycotted the proceedings.

A day later, in a bizarre turn of events, opposition BJP and rebel Congress MLAs congregated in a local hotel to "vote out" Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and to "elect" a rebel Congress MLA in his place but the Gauhati High Court intervened to keep in "abeyance" decisions taken at the rebel "session".

A "no confidence" motion moved by BJP MLAs and Independent MLAs was "adopted" with Deputy Speaker T Norbu Thongdok, who is also a rebel Congressman, in the Chair. A total of 33 members in the 60-member house, including 20 dissident Congress MLAs, later "elected" another dissident Congressman Kalikho Pul as the new "chief minister" of the state. Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and his 26 supporting MLAs boycotted the proceedings terming them as "illegal and unconstitutional".

The Chief Minister later wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee 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 Governor Jyoti Prashad Rajkhowa.

Angry over the Governor's action in calling a session of the Assembly bypassing the government, the Congress had paralysed the Rajya Sabha for two days during the winter session.

In the High Court, Justice Hrishikesh Roy observed prima facie the Governor's decision to advance the Assembly session to December 16, 2015 for taking up the impeachment proceedings against the Speaker was in "violation of Article 174 and 175 of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has referred a batch of petitions on the Arunachal Pradesh crisis to a Constitution Bench.