When 21 MLA’s from the Congress switched sides to the BJP to impeach the speaker, it triggered a constitutional crisis that came to its logical conclusion today with SC having the final word. Earlier, the rebel MLA’s switching camps to the BJP sought the intervention of the governor and cited ‘constitutional crisis’ to impose Article 356 (failure of constitutional machinery of the state) on Arunachal Pradesh that allows Arunachal Pradesh to be run directly from New Delhi. Congress has flayed the BJP for its experiments to topple the Arunachal Pradesh government and also has sought to bring back all the rebel MLA back to its fold.
The verdict
Congress has claimed victory for itself and for democracy after the SC has struck down on the earlier decision of the President (who works on the aid and advice of the council of ministers headed by the Prime Minister) to impose Article 356 on Arunachal Pradesh. Through the verdict, the SC reinstated the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh and dismissed Nabam Tuki’s decision as illegal. The verdict was a unanimous decision taken by the 5 member bench terming the decision taken by Arunachal Pradesh’s governor as worthy to be quashed.
Significance of the verdict
The verdict comes as a huge setback to Narendra Modi’s government’s federalist character, it puts to question the commitment of the central government to maintain cordial relations with states especially the one ruled by non-BJP parties. Prime Minister had earlier talked on ‘Team India’, a team which comprises of all the states, however, the Uttarakhand crisis and now the Arunachal Pradesh verdict puts to question the credibility of the words of Prime Minister wrt ‘Team India’.
China & the world is watching us
The central government surely knows the significance of Arunachal Pradesh, the geopolitics which surrounds Arunachal Pradesh and the dispute with China over its claims over Arunachal Pradesh. To exhibit constitutional crisis through unconstitutional means does not bode well for us. The central government has to put all its efforts in working with all states with special attention given to states with global geopolitical importance like the North East for the development of India and to keep up the spirit of democracy.
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