Congress questions trust vote won by BJP-led Manipur government

The opposition Congress in Manipur on Tuesday questioned the trust vote won by BJP-led government on Monday as the demand by its MLAs for the division of votes was rejected by the Speaker Y Khemchand Singh.

"How can yesterday's trust vote be a trust vote without defect when division, as demanded by all Opposition Congress MLAs, was rejected by the Speaker? Why was Rule No. 360 (3) of Conduct of Business on Division, allowing any member desiring for division vote to challenge the Speaker's opinion, not followed in yesterday's trust vote?" Congress spokesperson, Ningombam Bupenda Meitei told DH.

After the daylong discussion, the Speaker allowed voice vote to decide the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister N Biren Singh. The BJP-led government sailed through the motion as the Speaker rejected Congress MLAs' demand for division of votes. This infuriated the Opposition Congress MLAs, one of them even threw a chair at the Speaker to register his protest.

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The ruling party defended the decision saying the Speaker was following the rule as Congress' number became less after six of its MLAs submitted their resignations to the Speaker on Monday.

But Meitei questioned this argument asking about the timing of acceptance of the resignations by the Speaker. "Can the acceptance be done by the Speaker during the session in which the whip was already issued to all Congress MLAs, many days before?" he asked.

Biren Singh moved the confidence motion on Friday, days after Opposition Congress submitted a petition with the Assembly secretary for moving a no-confidence motion.

Congress sought the no-confidence motion after its demand for a CBI inquiry into a drug smuggling case involving a BJP leader was turned down.

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The 60-member House now has a strength of 53, including the Speaker, after four members were disqualified under the anti-defection law and three BJP MLAs resigned. The Congress has 24 MLAs and the ruling coalition has 29 members, of which 18 belong to BJP, four each from NPP and NPF, one each from Trinamool Congress and Lok Janshakti Party and an Independent.

Although BJP leaders were celebrating the voice vote victory on Twitter, Meitei called it was the murder of democracy. "When the Opposition's voice for the division was suppressed, when live telecast of the session was banned, and when trust vote was forcibly done with an undemocratic voice vote, was not BJP destroying our democracy inside the temple of democracy?

Yesterday was the darkest day in the history of Manipur Legislative Assembly where the ideals of the founding fathers of our Constitution were destroyed, and our democracy was murdered by suppressing the minority Opposition's democratic and constitutional voice," Meitei further said.