Newsmaker: TR Zeliang, in slippery places

Liezietsu Cabinet challenged governor, latter said he'd go by Constitution if CM refused floor test

It would be tragic if it weren’t also funny. In February, T R Zeliang had to step down as chief minister of Nagaland, following intense protests against his decision to conduct civic bodies’ elections with 33 per cent reservation for women. He was replaced by Shurhozellie Liezietsu. Five months later, Zeliang has replaced Liezietsu. The media in the Northeast is calling the caper a game of thrones.

Ahead of the show of strength in the legislative assembly on July 8, Zeliang had moved his loyal MLAs to a location inside Assam’s Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary. However, neither animals nor MLAs were safe there — the Brahmaputra was in spate and 36 dissident MLAs had to be evacuated by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), in batches starting 7 am last week. “The SDRF boat ferried legislators, while country boats and buses were arranged to take the NPF (Naga People’s Front) workers and policemen out of the flooded resort. It took us around four hours to evacuate all of them,” staff at the resort told local media.

P B Acharya, the state governor, asked  Liezietsu to prove his majority on the floor of the House on or before July 15. The Liezietsu Cabinet challenged the governor and the latter said he’d go by the Constitution if the CM refused to take a floor test. Zeliang claimed the support of 43 MLAs — 36 from NPF and seven independents. And, claimed  he could get the support of all four BJP members in the 60-member House, now with an effective strength of 59, following the resignation of Khriehu Liezietsu, who vacated his seat to enable his father to contest a byelection and become a member.

Right now, though, Liesietzu is neither MLA nor CM. He did not turn up for the floor test and Zeliang became CM almost by default. Liesietzu’s supporters say there is conspiracy afoot. The needle of suspicion is on a policeman, M K R Pillai, who joined the Nagaland Police as a constable in Mokokchung in 1971, retired as an Additional SP and started a consultancy in the state. Recent income tax department raids in his hometown, Kochi, yielded unaccounted money amounting to Rs 400 crore. How did a police officer come by so much? Own money or someone else’s? Questions being asked all over Nagaland. 

Liesietzu’s followers say he had begun a probe into Pillai’s affairs. So, he had to go. Apparently, nothing is as it appears to be in the change of government.