By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 10: The Congress, which filed the second petition to the Assembly Speaker on Friday seeking action against former party MLAs, Charles Pyngrope and Shitlang Pale, is more than optimistic that the 12 deserters, who are now with the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), will be disqualified.
The Congress claimed there are clear lapses in the switchover process, which is not in accordance with the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law).
MPCC president and Shillong MP, Vincent H Pala said, “Merger is from party to party. These 12 MLAs got the numbers to split the party and there is no denying the fact but after coming out of the Congress, they should have formed a party and then, merged it with other party.”
Stating that he has discussed the issue with many top lawyers in Delhi, Pala said, “According to them, these MLAs will be disqualified, 100%, because the system they followed was not as per the Tenth Schedule.”
“We filed two sets of petitions – the first set is for the 10 MLAs and then, after doing a better research, we submitted the second petition against the two other MLAs,” he added.
Congress Legislature Party leader Ampareen Lyngdoh, who along with Pala and four other party MLAs submitted the second petition, said, “We are very confident that our petitions have tremendous merit while interpreting the Tenth Schedule.”
Echoing Pala, Lyngdoh said Sub-Para (2) of Para (4) clearly indicates that defection would only become valid if those who defect form a party and then merge it with another party.
“We know that there was this lapse in their exit. Another area we think requires attention is that there was no resignation, no discussion and no dialogue with the parent party,” she added.
She continued: “You may have two-third the number of MLAs but have you taken all necessary steps that will ensure you will not face disqualification?”
She said there are other grey areas in the Tenth Schedule that gives the Congress enough confidence to believe it will win the battle.
Lyngdoh claimed there is no ambiguity in the Congress’s arguments. This will be the first step in a series of fights against individuals who have attempted to desert a party that nurtured them and made them who they are today, she said.
Reacting to AITC leader Mukul Sangma’s statement that the Congress petition does not hold any grounds, she said, “We don’t want to react to baseless comments made by senior people who benefited greatly from the Congress during their entire tenure of service to the people. They are free to comment as per their own wisdom.”