Govt skipped guv address in first session of 2020
SHILLONG: Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma has brought to the notice of both Meghalaya Governor RN Ravi and Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh on the government’s lapse in not including the Governor’s Address during the session held on January 20.
The special session had ratified a government bill regarding the extension of reservation of seats.
In a meeting with the governor on January 21, Mukul said there was a serious lapse in fulfilling the requirement of the provision of the Article 176(1) of the Constitution of India.
Mukul also enclosed a copy of his letter addressed to the Speaker on the same day.
In the letter, Mukul said that the government did not comply with the provisions of Article 176(1) of the Constitution of India.
While regretting his inability to attend the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on January 14 due to unavoidable circumstances, the former chief minister said the constitutional provision regarding the special address by the governor as required under Article 176(1) should have been part of the proceedings and the government represented by the minister in-charge of Parliamentary Affairs and the Assembly Secretariat should not have overlooked such an important constitutional requirement.
According to Mukul, the constitutional requirement should not have eluded the attention of the state government because in the event of the commencement of the first session of each year, the governor has to address the house and text of the address has to be prepared and approved by the cabinet before sending to the governor and subsequent printing.
“I was taken by surprise only after reaching the House and seeing the calendar for the session and the list of business for the day. Raising the matter in the House would have been a serious embarrassment for the House and the state as a whole as this serious constitutional lapse or in other words, a serious violation of the constitutional provision would have come under the scanner of the whole world”, Mukul said.
The Article 176(1) states, “At the commencement of the first session after each general election to the Legislative Assembly and at the commencement of the first session of each year, the Governor shall address the Legislative Assembly”.
