DIMAPUR, APRIL 7 (MExN): Janata Dal (United) MLA Huska Sumi has said the calling of an emergent session of Assembly to get the Nagaland Advocate General’s views on the interpretation of the entries in the Schedule to the Nagaland Legislature Members (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1964 turned out to be a futile exercise.
Huska gave reason by saying that the entire State’s machinery had been alerted and mobilized just to hear a 25-minute address by the Advocate General. “The net result is, it was nothing short of much ado about nothing and wastage of time, energy and Public Exchequer,” he said in a release and continued, “Ostensibly, the State Assembly was summoned out of controversy over the issue of whether the Opposition Leader is excluded from the purview of the office of profit or not?”
The pertinent question, according to Huska, is whether the Bamboo Mission falls within the purview of the definition ‘authority’ as mentioned in entry 8 of the Schedule of the aforementioned Act of 1964.
In course of giving his opinion, the Advocate General merely stated that the definition of ‘authority’ implies a wide range of interpretation, Huska said. “He failed to throw a clear light on the issue.”
Further, in Huska’s opinion, the Advocate General “should have simply stated that the post of Opposition Leader is a part and parcel of Parliamentary Democracy and in the case of Nagaland if a political party has the strength of minimum 10 Members in the Assembly the Speaker is bound to give recognition to a leader of that party as the Opposition because the existence of the Opposition Leader has not emanated from the goodness of anybody.” To disqualify the Opposition leader implies that nobody will like to become the Leader of Opposition and get disqualified in future.
“Judging from the entire proceedings of the State’s Assembly, one can not help but come to the logical conclusion that the Chief Minster has been rather emotional in taking the 60-Members and the people of Nagaland for a joy ride.”
