New Arunachal government 'highly illegal': Tuki

Itanagar, Feb 21: Ousted Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Nabam Tuki on Sunday described the Kalikho Pul-led government as "highly illegal" and "unconstitutional" and blamed the Modi-led government for destabilizing his democratically elected government.

"They (central government) pulled down my government and proclaimed President's Rule citing the breakdown of law and order. They will try to destabilize governments in non-BJP-ruled states by imposing Article 356 and then installing an 'unconstitutional' government like they did in Arunachal," Tuki told IANS.

"Why don't they impose President's Rule in BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra where the governments have failed to tackle suicide of farmers, job scam and other issues?" the veteran Congress leader quipped.

Criticizing Governor J.P. Rajkhowa for administering Pul the oath as chief minister, Tuki said: "As per parliamentary convention, the governor should invite the single majority party to form the government.

"But in this case, the governor administered the oath of office and secrecy to Pul who is not even the leader of the Congress Legislature Party besides knowing that the matter is pending in the court. Isn't the governor misusing his office? This does not augur well in our parliamentary democracy."

The former chief minister also demanded the removal of Rajkhowa as the governor.

"Instead of safeguarding the constitution, he murdered democracy and the constitution for his own political interests, knowing the simplicity of the indigenous people in Arunachal."

Pul, leading the pack of 19 rebel Congress camp, was sworn in as the eighth chief minister on Friday night.

The BJP, which has 11 members in the 60-member Arunachal assembly, has extended outside support to Pul. Two independent legislators are also supporting the 19 rebel Congress legislators.

But sources close to the rebel Congress camp claimed that nine Tuki loyalists are set to shift their allegiance to Pul.

Claiming that he still enjoys majority in the house, Tuki, the first Christian to be the Arunachal chief minister, said: "With the disqualification of 16 legislators, the effective strength of the house is only 44. Of these, 26 MLAs are with me and my government and, therefore, I still enjoy the majority."

He also described the formation of the new government as "highly illegal" and "unconstitutional" since Pul had not been elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party.

"The Congress cannot take the support of the BJP in forming a government. The Congress does not subscribe to the BJP ideology. Therefore, the new government cannot be a Congress government.

"We will not allow this unholy alliance to continue. We will continue to fight for justice in the court of law."

Meanwhile, Pasang Dorjee Sona, one of the 19 rebel Congress legislators, held Congress leader V. Narayanasamy responsible for the political mess in the state.

"It was Narayanasamy, in-charge of party affairs in the state, who is responsible for the mess in the state. He never allowed us to meet and share our grievances with Congress president (Sonia Gandhi) and vice-president (Rahul Gandhi)," Pasang told IANS.

"We have to work with the BJP in the interest of the people of the state. Governance has nothing to do with political ideology. Good governance and development of the state come first," Pasang said.

IANS