SHILLONG: The HSPDP has cried foul over the appointment of 18 parliamentary secretaries by the government, which according to the party is against the Constitution of India.
HSPDP president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit indicated on Wednesday that the party may even move the Governor on the issue of disqualification of the 17 remaining parliamentary secretaries.
Quoting the orders of the High Courts of West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh, the HSPDP chief said the chief minister cannot administer the oath of office to the parliamentary secretaries as it is a violation of the Constitution. “The Meghalaya case of parliamentary secretaries is very serious and they may even face disqualification,” he warned.
Equating the parliamentary secretaries with that of a minister is in fact a violation of the Constitution as the Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment Act, 2003), points out that “the total number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the council of ministers in a state shall not exceed 15% of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of the State, provided that the number of ministers including the Chief Minister in a state shall not be less than twelve”.
