Congress highlights Tuesday last day for Manipur assembly sitting
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New Delhi: Congress Party's Head of Media, noted in X that today (Tuesday) " is the last day for a constitutionally mandated sitting of the Manipur Legislative Assembly’s session. Article 174 (1) of the Constitution of India stipulates that there cannot be more than a 6 month gap between the last sitting of an assembly session and the first sitting of the next assembly session".
Ramesh, who had passed critical comments on the belated resignation of Biren Singh as chief minister added, "Why is the Manipur Governor violating Article 174(1) by not summoning the Manipur Legislative Assembly for its constitutionally mandated assembly session?"
"The session was declared null and void because the BJP could not appoint a successor to the CM against whom the Congress was scheduled to move a no-confidence motion yesterday and who was forced to resign on Sunday night."
It may be recalled that though the Assembly had been convened, within hours from the resignation of Biren Singh as chief minister of Manipur, the Governor issued a notification on Sunday night declaring that the state legislative assembly would not convene on February 10.
The notification declared the previous orders summoning the assembly “null and void”.
Biren’s decision to step down a day before the assembly session was crucial since the ruling BJP government was in for a tough time in the House with several MLA's within the ruling front itself being likely to vote against him in the event of the no-trust motion moved by the Congress opposition coming up for vote.
Hours after Biren’s resignation, Jairam Ramesh wrote on X, “The Congress was all set to move a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers in the Manipur Assembly tomorrow. Sensing the climate, the Manipur CM has just resigned. This was a demand that the Congress has been making since early May 2023, when Manipur erupted.”
The Congress spokesman also came down heavily on the BJP leadership and prime minister Narendra Modi's role in the Manipur imbroglio. “The CM’s resignation was belated. The people of Manipur now await a visit by our Frequent Flier PM who is off to France and the USA now – and who has found neither the time nor the inclination to go to Manipur these past twenty months,” he wrote.