Guwahati: On a day when BJP president Amit Shah was launching the Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a regional alliance of political parties of North East, with an aim to decimate Congress in the region, the Supreme Court delivered a huge blow to his plans by restoring the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.
In a fair example of irony, the historic judgment was pronounced by SC on the very same day when Shah was to unveil the “Guwahati Declaration” with a slogan for Congress Mukt Northeast.
The conclave in Guwahati is being attended by Kalikho Pul, who replaced Nabam Tuki as the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister in February. Other CMs in attendance are Sarbananda Sonowal of Assam, T R Zeliang of Nagaland and Pawan Chamling of Sikkim.
"The conclave has three important objectives. One will be expansion of the base of BJP and its NE allies to make a Congress-free region at the local or regional level," NEDA convener and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said yesterday.
"Secondly, at the national level, NEDA will work to put in sync NE's growth with the national growth and how NE MPs can work together towards that end and strengthen it as the region has an important role to play in the development of the country," Sarma, who is live tweeting the event, said.
Besides Amit Shah, Union ministers Jitendra Singh and Rajen Gohain are also attending the event in Guwahati. Leaders of other political parties are also in the attendance.
The SC on Wednesday restored ousted Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, elating the opposition, which hailed the verdict as a victory of democracy.
In an unanimous verdict, a Constitution bench of Justices JS Khehar, Dipak Misra, Madan B Lokur, Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and NV Ramana directed the restoration of the status quo ante as it existed on December 15, 2015, effectively bringing Tuki back as Chief Minister.
The apex court quashed Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa's decision to advance the state assembly session from January 2016 to December 2015, which set off developments leading to Tuki's ouster.
It was the second such ruling by the Supreme Court since May when it similarly restored the ousted government of Chief Minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat in Uttarakhand.
