By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The NCP has demanded action against 12 NCP legislators who had recently defected to Purno Sangma-led National People’s Party (NPP).
In this connection, the NCP’s national general secretary DP Tripathi has written a letter to the State Assembly Speaker Charles Pyngrope, informed the party’s central observer Robert Kharshiing here on Saturday.
Speaking to The Shillong Times over phone, Kharshiing said in the letter Tripathi, which he wrote on Thursday, has asked the Speaker to disqualify the 12 legislators under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution as they have voluntarily relinquished the membership of NCP.
Kharshiing said as per a Supreme Court ruling, the newspaper and video clippings pertaining to this defection would be accepted by Court if a complaint is lodged.
The NCP leader said the Speaker could also take a suo motto action against the NCP legislators since the merger is illegal as NCP is a national party.
Unlike the regional parties, the Congress, NCP and BJP are national parties and the merger or split can be accepted only when it takes place at the national level and not at the state level, Kharshiing added.
However, the Assembly Speaker is yet to receive any document from the NPP on the 12 legislators .
Sources said that the Speaker can act only when he gets the documents related to the merger from NPP.
Meanwhile, the NCP leader met the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee president DD Lapang on Friday to discuss the pre-poll alliance issue.
Since it was his first meeting, Lapang remained non-committal on the issue, Kharshiing said adding “We will meet Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma next week to discuss the matter”.
However, the Chief Minister has already rejected the NCP’s proposal.