SHILLONG, Aug 27: In a statement laced with sarcasm, Voice of the People Party (VPP) supremo Ardent M Basaiawmoit on Tuesday congratulated Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and his team for their fishing (read as poaching) skills.
“I would like to congratulate the chief minister and his team the ruling party for having shown their fishing skills whereby he successfully managed to fish three MLAs from the Congress side to his side,” Basaiawmoit said in the Assembly.
Speaking about NPP attaining the majority-mark on its own after the merger of the three Congress MLAs, Basaiawmoit said, “There is nothing for the NPP to be proud of because there was no election. They got to that number through proxy. Maybe those politicians (who joined NPP) could not withstand the pressure of the government on the members of the opposition.”
Basaiawmoit also questioned the legality of the merger. Highlighting the importance of the Tenth Schedule, he said, “Strictly speaking, it all depends on how the Congress party will take up this matter, but I can tell you that if you go by the spirit of the Tenth Schedule it is there to ensure that there is no defection and to ensure that there is no split in any political party.”
He argued that the merger might not hold up legally, as it did not involve the entire party. “If the party challenges the decision of the Speaker, the future of these three MLAs will be at stake,” he warned, stating that a merger means that the original party ceases to exist, which is not true in this case.
Contradicting the VPP chief’s statement, TMC MLA and former Speaker, Charles Pyngrope said, “A merger involving two-thirds of a party’s members is constitutionally valid. Therefore, I would not call it fishing. I would call it a merger. And that is allowed.”
Acknowledging the complexities that arise when members are suspended, he said suspension from a party does not equate to suspension from the Assembly.
He further questioned, “How do you interpret suspension and disqualification and merger? That’s for the court to decide. But in my opinion, a member who is suspended from the party doesn’t necessarily get suspended from the House. They still remain members of the House.”
