SHILLONG: As the appointment of parliamentary secretaries in the State is said to be violating the rules, Deputy Chief Minister in charge Law, Rowell Lyngdoh, on Monday asserted that he would discuss the matter with legal experts.
He, however, refused to comment any further on the matter saying that parliamentary secretaries have been the norm in the State since long.
Equating the rank of parliamentary secretaries to that of a minister as per Meghalaya Legislative Assembly rules, may haunt the State government as it will come into conflict with the amendment Act of downsizing the ministry to just 12.
Currently, with 18 parliamentary secretaries being equated with ministers and 12 actual ministers, the strength will be a total of 30 whereas small states like Meghalaya can have only 12 ministers.
Last year, the Calcutta High Court had set aside a State Act of appointing parliamentary secretaries and struck down the appointment of as many as 24 parliamentary secretaries to ministers, calling it unconstitutional and declared the West Bengal Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2012, as ultra vires the Constitution, saying that it goes against Clause 1(A) of Article 164 of the Constitution.
