Y. Surchandra Singh

Manipur HC Sets Aside Congress MLA’s Election for Non-Disclosure of Information

Justice M.V. Muralidharan also declared the petitioner, BJP candidate M Rameshor, elected from Kakching.

Imphal: The Manipur high court on Thursday declared the election of Y. Surchandra Singh, the MLA of Kakching seat, as null and void as he did not properly disclose particulars of his assets and liabilities in the poll affidavit in 2017.

Justice M.V. Muralidharan also declared the petitioner, BJP candidate M Rameshor, elected from Kakching.

Surchandra, who was a Congress candidate, had defeated Rameshor by 630 votes in the state assembly polls held in 2017. However, he later joined the saffron party.

Rameshor had moved the court alleging that Surchandra did not disclose full particulars of his assets and liabilities in the affidavit. Surchandra has already been disqualified from the membership of the Assembly by the Speaker.

The Congress, which had won a total of 28 seats to emerge as the single largest party in the 60-member Manipur house after the 2017 polls, saw members deserting it from time to time. The state now has a BJP government.

Manipur: As Ibobi Singh Leads Move to Topple BJP Govt, CBI Summons Former CM in Corruption Case

The timing of the Central agency’s summons, over a November 2019 case, has raised eyebrows.

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation has summoned former Manipur chief minister and Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh for questioning in a case of alleged misappropriation of state government funds worth Rs 332 crore during his regime. The summons come at a time when Singh is leading the move to replace the BJP-led coalition government in Manipur.

The CBI had filed the FIR related to the case in November last year. Singh has been asked to be present for interrogation on June 24. A CBI team has already arrived at the state capital of Imphal.

The timing of the summons by the central agency which functions under the Union Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, is, however, being viewed by political observers in the state as a possible move to buy time and thwart the Ibobi-led Secular Progressive Front’s attempt to topple the N. Biren Singh government.

“The timing can’t just be overlooked at a time when Ibobi has been made the joint leader of the Front and together with the National People’s Party (NPP) MLAs and the TMC and independent MLAs, has sought a special session of the assembly from the governor to bring a no-confidence motion against Biren government,” a senior editor of a local news organisation told The Wire.

The BJP-led government plunged into a crisis on June 17 with the shifting of three party MLAs to the Congress besides its ally, the four NPP MLAs along with the lone independent candidate and the All India Trinamool Congress legislator pulling away their support to it.

Also read: RS Polls: Manipur Speaker Allows Only Those Rebel Congress MLAs Who Support BJP to Vote

The editor, who requested to be anonymous citing “vindictive politics in the state”, also pointed out, “A similar development had happened in Karnataka when another central agency, the Enforcement Directorate, was set after state Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar because he played a crucial role in the formation of the coalition government there after the 2018 polls. Allegation of corruption against political leaders must be probed but it should be in public interest and not in the interest of any party.”

Unofficially, sources in the state BJP don’t deny the timing of “the Central government’s move”. One such source added, “Side by side, an attempt is also being made to bring back the four MLAs of the NPP. This is because we need the numbers. Five of the Congress MLAs have been disqualified for supporting us. Three of our MLAs have resigned from the party.”

A party source said, “NEDA [North East Democratic Alliance] convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma arrived in Imphal on June 22 to placate the rebel MLAs. He has the full support of the NPP president [and Meghalaya chief minister] Conrad Sangma, who came with him to Imphal too. Between them, they held several sessions with the legislators but the state NPP leaders are led by Yumnam Joykumar who has serious differences with the chief minister N. Biren and thus the meetings remained inconclusive.”

A news report in Imphal Free Press, too, quoted “highly reliable source from NPP” to state that Sangma had a closed door meeting “for several hours” with the NPP MLAs but it “was inconclusive”. Sangma is said to have visited Imphal at the request of Amit Shah. The duo – Sangma and Sarma – left Imphal around 10 pm on June 22 and also had a meeting with the chief minister during the day-long visit.

Meanwhile, NPP state unit chief T. Kipgen issued a statement accusing the BJP-led government of “never consulting” its allies before taking a major decision. “The authoritative style functioning of the present government is autocratic and undemocratic. Therefore, taking all the issues into account, my party finally decided to withdraw our support to the BJP government in the state,” the statement reportedly said.

The latest development from the state, according to sources, however, is that NPP MLAs are on their way to Delhi to have a meeting with the party’s national leadership to iron out the creases. The Wire has not been able independently confirm it, although the news agency PTI has also quoted its own sources as having said the same.

Sarma, on June 23, had told reporters at a press meet in Guwahati that “within two to three days a positive result will emerge (from Manipur).”

“The Manipur situation is under control. I will be going there once again and we will be talking to our MLAs. This will be resolved nicely. All discussions are taking place in a positive atmosphere and within two to three days, a positive result will emerge,” he reportedly said.

Sarma also said, “The situation will change since many people are disqualified. There will be major bypolls. Once the Speaker passes any order it cannot be revoked. The architecture of the government will be more or less the same; we will continue with the spirit of NEDA and NDA. We are going to work with a principle of friendship.”

State BJP chief Saikhom Tiken Singh told NDTV, “We agree that there is instability (but) in case of a floor test we will be able to gather the numbers.”

Former state health minister and NPP MLA L. Jayanthkumar had said that though Sangma had tried to convince them, “We have explained our position to him. We will not succumb to any pressure.”

Also read: Manipur Ex-CM Ibobi Among Those Raided by CBI For ‘Misappropriation of Funds’

Meanwhile, CBI team is all set to keep Congress’ master strategist Ibobi busy on June 24. The CBI had taken over the case last November at the behest of the Biren Singh government. Around that time, the CBI conducted raids at nine locations including at the residence of Ibobi. The allegation is, Ibobi, as the chairman of Manipur Development Society between June 2009 and July 2017, allegedly misappropriated government funds amounting to Rs 332 crore of the total budgetary allocation of Rs 518 crore along with top officials of the Society.

N. Biren had been a minister in the Ibobi Singh government before moving over to the BJP in 2016.

RS Polls: Manipur Speaker Allows Only Those Rebel Congress MLAs Who Support BJP to Vote

Yumnam Khemchand Singh permitted three of seven rebel Congress MLAs to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls after they reportedly pledged support to the BJP’s candidate.

New Delhi: Manipur assembly speaker and BJP legislator Yumnam Khemchand Singh permitted three of seven rebel Congress MLAs to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls after they reportedly pledged support to the BJP’s candidate. He barred the four other rebels for expressing the intention to return to the Congress, in what marks a black day in India’s parliamentary democracy.

In a closely contested elections, the BJP’s candidate for the lone seat, the titular king Leisemba Sanajaoba, won the polls defeating the Congress candidate T. Mangi Babu.

What is to be pointed out is that L. Robindro, the Thanga MLA from All India Trinamool Congress, who pulled away his support to the BJP-led coalition government on June 17 and had announced his allegiance to the Congress, was barred from casting his vote as well.

Robindro shot off a letter to the Election Commission of India seeking its intervention in the “unfair election,” stating that the Speaker disallowed him without following due process. He had urged the ECI to keep the result on hold till the issue was sorted.

Sources in the state Congress said the party has decided to approach the ECI for the Speaker allowing three of its rebel MLAs to vote in the election.

Also read: Manipur HC Bars 7 Congress MLAs Who Joined BJP From Entering Assembly

Earlier, the Speaker had allowed the seven rebel MLAs of the Congress to move over to the treasury benches in spite of being elected to the 2017 assembly on a Congress ticket. However, following a directive from the Manipur high court on June 8, the Speaker had to bar their entry into the assembly complex. The high court had asked the Speaker to dispose of the petitions lying with him, seeking their disqualification for not resigning from the house and seeking re-election as BJP candidates before occupying the treasury benches.

Latest news reports coming from Imphal said the Speaker allowed three Congress legislators – N Haokip (Saitu), B. Brojen Singh (Wangjing Tengtha) and Ginsuanghau (Singhat) – to cast their vote in today’s Rajya Sabha elections while disqualified the rest of them – S. Bira Singh, Oinam Lukhoi Singh, Y. Surchandra Singh, and K. Bira Singh – from the house.

Besides, disqualified Congress MLA T. Shyamkumar too was barred from voting in today’s elections. In a clear violation of the Tenth Schedule of the constitution, the state governor, in 2017, had allowed the swearing in of Shyamkumar as a minister in the BJP-led government even though he had won that election in a Congress ticket. However, this March, hearing a petition filed by a few Congress MLAs, the Supreme Court disqualified him from the assembly.

Senior Congress MLA K. Meghachandra, on June 18, had submitted an application to the assembly secretary seeking removal of the Speaker from his post stating that he had failed to carry out his constitutional duties.

In all, though it is a 60-member assembly, only 52 MLAs (including the Speaker) were allowed to vote on June 19.

While three BJP MLAs who had resigned from the House and moved over to the Congress on June 17 stayed away from the elections as they had also resigned from the House, it had reduced the BJP’s chances of winning the Rajya Sabha election against the Congress’ candidate.

Also read: Manipur: BJP-Led Coalition Comes Apart at the Seams, Congress Likely to Make a Move

The Speaker’s decision to allow the three rebel Congress MLAs who supported the BJP, is being looked at by political observers in the state as a measure to address the shortfall.

Polling for the elections began at 9 am and continued till 4 pm.

Meanwhile, on June 18, the four National People’s Party (NPP) MLAs who pulled out of the N. Biren Singh government, along with the lone AITC MLA Robindro, an independent MLA Asafuddin, and the Congress MLAs, formed the Secular Democratic Front with an aim to form an alternate government.

They have submitted an application to state governor Najma Heptullah to hold a special session of the assembly where they can move a no confidence motion against the BJP-led government. The governor has not decided on the date of the session yet.

While chief minister Biren Singh has the support of 23 MLAs along with BJP allies, the SDF has 26 MLAs in its support. The house, with its reduced count of members, would need at least 26 members in one formation to claim simple majority.