Parliamentary Secretaries in the news : Congress on the offensive
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 24 2018 -

The interesting question now is, how will the stand of the Delhi High Court impact on the intense campaign being launched by the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee against the decision of the BJP led Government to appoint 12 Parliamentary Secretaries.

Lest one jumps the gun, let it be clear that the Delhi High Court set aside the recommendation of the Election Commission to disqualify 20 AAP MLAs on the ground that it violated the principles of natural justice as the MLAs were not given the opportunity to be heard.

This will surely be a reprieve to the BJP led Government and the 12 MLAs who have been appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries but it would be misleading to say that the case will be given a quiet burial.

Hear them, or rather given them the opportunity to be heard so that a logical conclusion can be arrived at but it stands that the question here is a Constitutional issue and no one is above the Constitution of the country.

It is in taking cognizance of this point that the Assembly decided to roll back the Manipur Parliamentary Secretaries Act during the recent Budget session on February 23 with the Opposition Congress staging a walk out.

Last heard, the Bill withdrawing the said Act was to be referred to the Governor for her assent and that is the last information that The Sangai Express has on the matter.

Whatever the case may be, the coming days will surely be interesting as the BJP led Government will surely be relieved by the ruling from the Delhi High Court, for the last word is yet to be said and there is no guarantee that the Congress will dilute its stand to disqualify the MLAs who have been appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries.

As noted earlier here, the ruling of the Delhi High Court will surely give a sense of reprieve to the BJP led Government, but this is no guarantee that the Congress will water down its stand.

A point which has been clearly underlined in the statement of AICC spokesperson Sushmita Dev, when she said “Just like the AAP has made an absolute mockery of the law, the BJP is flouting every rule in Manipur.

Just like the AAP, the BJP is also guilty of the same illegality in Manipur” with reference to the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries.

Given the spirit with which this statement was made to the media, hours after the Delhi High Court passed its verdict, it can be taken that the State Congress will not call it a day but continue to exert the needed pressure to nail the BJP Govt via the 12 MLAs who have been appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries.

To be sure the heat is on the BJP led Government here, but at the same time it may also be said that those who do not toe the line of the BJP led Government here, will expect something more from the Congress.

The bottom line is the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries defeats the spirt of the Constitutional amendment which limits the size of the Ministry.

The coming days will be interesting indeed and here is hoping that the tussle does not get reduced to an exercise of punching below the belt.