The President has issued a Proclamation today, assuming to herself all the functions of the Government of the State of Nagaland and the powers vested in or exercisable by the Governor of Nagaland. The President has also declared that the powers of the Nagaland Legislature shall be exercisable by or under the authority of the Parliament. The effect of these Proclamations is that the Nagaland Ministry has ceased to exist and the Governor can now act only under the authority of the President and any business that could be transacted by the Nagaland Legislative Assembly will now be transacted in Parliament or under its Authority.
I wish to take this opportunity to explain to you the circumstances which have led to Nagaland being brought under President’s rule. Nagaland Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2003 and had 60 members. On 30th May 2007, 22 MLAs from DAN Alliance informed me in writing, that they have withdrawn their support to the Neiphiu Rio Government and staked claim to form alternative Government under the leadership of Shri Z Obed. However, on the very next day, 10 MLAs out of the above group of 22 informed me that their signatures must be verified as they had signed earlier on the petition in 2004 and now they reaffirmed their support to the leadership of Shri Neiphiu Rio. Amidst this confusion, Huska Sumi accused the ruling DAN Alliance of indulging in Horse-trading of MLAs and misuse of funds. Shri Z Obed, MLA accused the ruling DAN Alliance of forcing withdrawal of signatures of 10 MLAs under duress. All this pointed to activities that are not in the best interests of democracy and governance.
Further, in September 2007, 4 NPF MLAs namely Shri Z Obed, Shri K Therie, Shri Yeangphong and Shri Vatsu Meru resigned from the Assembly. On the same day, Independent MLA, Shri Kutovi, withdrew support from the DAN Government. Further, Shri Tiameren, MLA of BJP also resigned in October 2007. In October 2007, Shri Huska Sumi and Shri Deo Nukhu, MLA s of JD (U) withdrew support to the DAN Government. On 27th November 2007, Works and Housing Minister, Shri Tokeho, resigned from the Cabinet. On the same day, 2 Independent MLAs, namely Shri P Chuba and Shri Jongshilemba withdrew support to the ruling DAN Alliance. The very next day Shri Kaito was sworn in place of Shri Tokeho. On 1st December, Shri Kheto, Forest Minister resigned from the Cabinet. In his place, Shri Doshehe Y Sema, was sworn in on 3rd December. On 1st December only, Shri K Hollohon, resigned as Parliamentary Secretary and in his place Shri Hukavi was sworn in. All these actions pointed to growing instability in the Assembly and also a situation where members elected by people were going by Self Interest rather than interest of the people they represent and that too just a few months before the Assembly Elections. On 12th December, 2007 6 NPF MLAs namely Shri Hukavi, Nkhao Lotha, Kipili Sangtam, Hewoto, Tarie, and Kihoto Hollohon submitted their resignations from the Assembly. Some of these members were also part of the group of 22 MLAs who had signed the petition on 30th May 2007 and later withdrew their signatures. On 13th December 2007, Shri Kheto, MLA submitted his resignation from the Assembly.
On 13th December, One Day Assembly Session was scheduled and Opposition moved a No Confidence Motion. Interestingly, till the session, Speaker had not decided on the resignation letters of the 7 MLAs who had resigned on 12th and 13th December 2007. The Assembly, with only 55 members had the following composition on that day – NPF -28, BJP -4, Independent -1 in the ruling DAN Alliance comprising of 33 members and 17 of Congress, 2 of JD (U) and 3 Independents in the Opposition comprising of 22 members. However when the Vote on Motion of No Confidence was taken up, along with the 17 Congress and 2 JD (U) MLAs, the 3 Independents and 9 NPF MLAs (including 7 who had resigned earlier) stood up and said Ayes to the Motion. 23 MLAs (comprising of 18 NPF, 4 BJP and 1 Independent) voted against the Motion. However, the Speaker did not count the Votes of 3 Independent MLAs and 9 NPF MLAs and ruled that Motion of No Confidence was defeated by 23 Votes to 19.
After that 31 MLAs (comprising of 17 Congress, 2 JD (U), 3 Independents and 9 NPF rebels) walked out and came to Raj Bhavan claiming that the Government has been defeated by 31 Votes to 23 and further claimed to form an alternative Government under the banner of Nagaland Progressive Alliance. However, these 9 legislators of NPF could not have joined another political group as per the provisions of Anti Defection Act. Thus the effective strength of the Opposition remained 22. Subsequently resignations of 7 of the 9 NPF legislators have been accepted by the Speaker. Remaining 2 NPF legislators also can not join the Opposition Group led by Congress. Thus Nagaland Progressive Alliance with a total strength of 22 members was not in a position to form a stable Government.
Though the Speaker ruled that Motion of No Confidence was defeated by 23 Votes to 19, the fact remained that the Government was reduced to a minority of only 23 MLAs in a house of effective strength of 55 with 31 members not supporting the Government.
On the night of 13th December 2007, the Speaker accepted the resignations of 7 NPF MLAs, thereby reducing the effective strength of the assembly to 48. Even then, the ruling DAN Alliance had a support of only 23 MLAs out of 48 and 24 were against them, apart from the Speaker. Again on 17th December 2007, one Congress MLA has resigned from the Assembly. This series of defections and resignations have really plagued the Government. If a Government is continuously trying to placate its MLAs by giving them ministerial berths and other portfolios, then it is clear that the group of MLAs who are together forming a Government are not bound by ideology and principles but by mere lure of office. Such manipulations and machinations by elected members will never allow a Government to focus on Development and Administration. This seriously jeopardizes the Developmental Process as also the interests of the citizens.
Thus it became very clear that no stable Ministry can be formed from the present Assembly which has as many as 13 vacant seats and has seen a series of defections and resignations. A Government should run on the principles enshrined in the Constitution and any attempt to manipulate a majority by interpreting Constitutional Law arbitrarily amounts to making a mockery of the Constitution itself. Moreover the Assembly has just about 2-3 more months of life left. Any Government, if formed from the present Legislature will only result in un principled defections with lure of office and is not likely to provide stable governance. This would be a very dangerous situation in any State, more so in Nagaland which has special security needs and is due for elections in just about 2-3 months. Fresh Elections, due in February – March 2008 will lead to a stable legislature and a stable Ministry. In view of this, there was no option left but to impose provisions of Article 356, in order to be fair to both the parties and give a chance to the people of the State to elect a Government democratically as per their wishes.
A stable Government at this stage is very vital for Nagaland to march ahead on the path of Peace and Development. The last decade has seen Peace coming in the State, a bit slowly but steadily. It has been recognized by all that Peace is very vital and it is imperative that killing of brothers by brothers must stop and a situation must be created that is conducive for resolution of all issues through dialogue and through Peaceful means. The decade long ceasefire and the Peace process has ignited the minds of citizens who now yearn for everlasting peace and prosperity of all. This is an important milestone in the History of Nagaland and we must ensure that narrow sectarian goals of a few individuals must not come in the way of the goal of larger Good for the Society. Today, what we need in Nagaland is for our leaders to rise above the politics of office and go to the people, get the mandate and thereafter venture upon fulfilling the aspirations of the people who have elected them. This is the cornerstone of a mature democracy and if our leaders can live up to the expectations, the dream of a developed Nagaland will be a reality.
During the period of President’s rule, I wish to assure you that I shall do my very best for the Peace, Progress, Prosperity and Development of Nagaland. I shall ensure that the State Administration gears up to meet the expectations that citizens have from Government. Maintenance of Law and Order has to be a top priority and Police and Security Forces must ensure that citizens can live a secure and peaceful life. This would also require joining of hands by various groups and the recent declaration of cessation of factional clashes is a step in the right direction and needs to be carried further. Good Governance will be a thrust area and I call upon all to join hands to improve delivery of services to citizens specially with regard to Public Distribution System, Health Services and Educational Services. We have to tone up the Developmental apparatus to ensure proper utilization of funds received from Government of India for schemes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme whereby we can gainfully employ all our youth and create durable community assets. Public Grievances must be addressed in responsive, accountable and time bound manner and all Government Departments must instill Financial Discipline. The endeavor will be to give to the citizens a Government that is SMART – Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent. In this I need support and cooperation of Government Servants, Police, Security Forces and above all the People of the State. I would urge upon the Government Servants, to do the extra bit to ensure that Government Services are run to the best of their abilities and at the same time the machinery is geared in time to conduct the ensuing Assembly Elections, whereby a Popular Government can be chosen by the People.
I pray to God to Bless Nagaland.
