Fates of turncoat MLAs in Speaker’s hand

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Feb 4 : The fates of the five MLAs who were elected on JD (U) tickets and later joined BJP as well those of four NPP MLAs who requested arrangement of their seats on the Treasury bench now depend on the judgement of the Manipur Legislative Assembly Speaker.
The Manipur Legislative Assembly Speaker’s Tribunal today heard the disqualification cases filed against Kh Joykisan (Thangmeiband AC), Ngursanglur Sanate (Tipaimukh AC), Md Achab Uddin (Jiribam AC), Th Arunkumar (Wangkhei AC) and LM Khaute (Churachandpur AC) who were elected on JD (U) tickets but defected to BJP.
MPCC spokesman and AICC member Advocate N Bhupenda Meitei who filed the disqualification cases and other advocates who appeared on his behalf sought disqualification of the five MLAs under the Constitution’s 10th Schedule.  
Of the five MLAs, only Kh Joykisan filed a counter affidavit.
The petitioner’s advocates, citing the four MLAs’ failure to file any counter affidavit, asserted it can be assumed that they have no objection to their disqualification.
One of the petitioner’s advocates prayed the tribunal to fix another date for hearing the disqualification case of Joykisan while the other four MLAs may be disqualified under the Constitution’s 10th Schedule today itself.      
The disqualification cases were filed on September 20, 2024 and the tribunal asked the respondents (MLAs) to file written objections or counter affidavits within three weeks but none of the MLAs filed counter affidavits in time, the petitioners’ advocates pointed out.
Pointing out that the counter affidavit filed by Kh Joykisan was late by almost two weeks, they sought disqualification of all the five MLAs elected on JD(U) tickets.
The petitioner’s advocates further prayed the tribunal to impose a fine of Rs 5 lakh each on all the five MLAs for their failure to file counter affidavits in time.
Speaker Th Satyabrata questioned the respondents’ advocates on their failure to submit written statements in time.
Advocates representing Ngursanglur Sanate, LM Khaute, Th Arunkumar and Md Achab Uddin nonetheless filed one miscellaneous case each,
N Bhupenda Meitei prayed the tribunal to club the hearings of the disqualification cases of the five MLAs elected on JD(U) tickets with the disqualification cases filed against four NPP MLAs namely; Irengbam Nalini (Oinam AC), Thongam Shanti (Moirang AC), Mayanglam-bam Rameshwar (Kakching AC) and Janghemlung Panmei (Tamenglong AC) on the same date.
The disqualification cases against the four NPP MLAs were filed by MPCC spokesman Hareshwar Goswami.
After making an official announcement that NPP had withdrawn its support to N Biren Government on November 17, 2024, NPP National president Conrad Sangma wrote a letter to Speaker Satyabrata on January 31, 2025 to arrange the seats of the NPP MLAs on the Opposition bench during the Manipur Assembly session which is scheduled to commence from February 10.
Earlier, NPP State president late N Kayisii wrote a similar letter to the Speaker on January 18 requesting to sit the NPP MLAs on the Opposition bench.
In total defiance of these letters from the party’s National and State presidents, some NPP MLAs submitted a missive to the Speaker on January 20 to let them sit on the Treasury bench    
Asserting that the four NPP MLAs who sought seats on the Treasury bench  must be disqualified under the Constitution’s 10th Schedule, the Congress party filed disqualification petitions against them at the Speaker’s Tribunal.
Sources said that the fates of the five MLAs elected on JD(U) tickets and the four NPP MLAs now lie in the hands of the Speaker.
Now it is up to the Speaker whether the nine MLAs should be disqualified or not.
After today’s hearing which started at 11.30 am and went on till around 12.30 pm, Manipur Legislative Assembly Secretary K Meghajit has issued a cause list listing the next hearing of the disqualification cases pertaining to the five MLAs’ elected on JD(U) tickets but later defected to BJP at 11.30 am on February 7.