Up in arms against Congress Chief Minister Nabam Tuki for the last three months, 21 rebel party MLAs, including 14 disqualified yesterday, with the help of BJP and independent legislators, congregated at a community hall after the state Assembly complex was 'sealed' by the local administration, and 'impeached' Rebia in an impromptu session chaired by Deputy Speaker T Norbu Thongdok.
After the impeachment motion had been moved by Leader of the Opposition Tamiyo Taga of BJP, Thongdok called out the name of Rebia to enable him offer clarifications, if any, on the impeachment notice but the Speaker was not present.
The resolution was then put to vote and was supported by 20 dissident Congress MLAs, barring the Deputy Speaker who did not vote, 11 of BJP and two independents. All 33 of them also put their signature of consent on the resolution, which was then declared passed.
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Questioning the legality of participation of 14 rebel Congress MLAs, who were yesterday disqualified by him, including Deputy Speaker Thongdok, in the exercise, Rebia said it was a "mockery of democracy".
Earlier in the day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her deputy Rahul Gandhi took the matter to President Pranab Mukherjee, accusing the Modi government of trying to "oust" the party government in the state as part of a "pre-planned design".
"It is clear that the BJP top leadership with the connivance of some dissident Congress MLAs planned to destabilize the democratically-elected Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.
11 BJP MLAs and two independents had served the notice for
impeachment motion against the Speaker on November 19 to the Assembly secretary.
Rebia, who had yesterday disqualified 14 rebel Congress MLAs to pre-empt any attempt at impeaching and removing him, said,"It is a mockery of democracy... When I have made the summons and declared the notice issued by Governor J P Rajkhowa as null and void which was unconstitutional and illegal, how can a session be convened in a different venue?"
He said the CLP leader had served the notice following a recommendation from the party high command for their expulsion. The move was also endorsed by state's Parliamentary Affairs Minister, he said.
He said the development, unprecedented in the state, occurred due to "unconstitutional and illegal" move of Governor J P Rajkhowa.
"As per the established rules under the rules of procedure of the state Legislative Assembly, the Governor can summon a session after consultation with the council of ministers headed by the Chief Minister and with the Speaker. The Parliamentary Affairs department will later issue notice for commencement of the session," he pointed out.
Governor Rajkhowa and Chief Minister Tuki have been feuding for quite some time. Tuki has often accused Rajkhowa of misusing the Raj Bhavan as an office of the BJP to dislodge the Congress government.
Tuki is the second northeast CM after Assam's Tarun Gogoi to lock in a feud with the Governor. Gogoi had made similar accusations against Nagaland Governor PB Acharya, who holds additional charge of Assam.
Earlier, moving the impeachment motion, Leader of the
Opposition Tamiyo Taga of BJP said, "The Speaker has failed to perform his duty as a neutral person and allowed business of the house as per his whims. He always shows bias against the opposition members."
He said Speaker Rebia accepted the resignation of two Congress members - Gabriel D Wangsu and Wanglam Sawin - without verifying the fact as they were "forced to sign" their resignation letters by Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.
"The Speaker has appointed a large number of staff in the Assembly without following the established rules. We are demanding an impartial enquiry against him which is possible only if he is removed from the chair," the opposition leader added.
Talking to reporters, Thongdok later claimed the disqualification of 14 Congress MLAs, including him, by the Speaker yesterday was "illegal" and amounted to "murder of democracy".
Sonia, who led a delegation to Rashtrapati Bhavan that included Rahul Gandhi and senior leaders A K Antony, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, its Deputy Leader Anand Sharma and Ahmed Patel, submitted a memorandum to the President urging him to preserve the sanctity of the Constitution, the democratic traditions of the country and polity and the rule of law.
The party alleged that the Governor's actions have created a "constitutional crisis" and constitutional tenets of propriety are being "wantonly disregarded".
The party forced repeated adjournments of Rajya Sabha over the issue while in Lok Sabha, its members, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, staged a walkout.
Alleging "murder of Constitution and democracy", the Congress members in both Houses demanded the dismissal of the Governor.