Shillong, Sep 28: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Friday lodged a complaint with the Meghalaya assembly Speaker Charles Pyngrope seeking disqualification of 11 legislators who had joined P.A. Sangma's National People's Party (NPP).
”We have lodged a complaint with the speaker of the assembly and its secretary, H. Mylliemngap, against 11 NCP legislators who have defected to the NPP under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution,” NCP's Meghalaya unit president Sanbor Shullai told IANS.
”Legal notices have also been issued to all the 11 NCP rebel legislators,” he said.
Shullai, who is also the deputy speaker, said the complaint against the legislators was filed as per sections 191(2) and 21(a) of the constitution's Tenth Schedule.
”We'll examine the complaint filed by NCP legislator Sanbor Shullai today (Friday) against the 11 legislators,” Pyngrope said.
He, however, said the NPP had not yet informed the assembly secretariat about the merger of 11 legislators with it.
NPP president Purno A. Sangma, however, said: “The anti-defection law does not provide for the disqualification of the NCP members if two-thirds of the party MLAs in Meghalaya merge with the NPP.”
In the 60-member assembly, the NCP has 13 legislators, including suspended legislator Adolf Lu Hitler R. Marak. One NCP legislator, Masonsingh M Sangma, died recently.
Marak and Deputy Speaker Sanbor Shullai did not join the NPP, which was launched by former NCP leader and former Lok Sabha speaker Purno A. Sangma.
Earlier, NCP's general secretary D.P. Tripathi had lodged a complaint with the assembly speaker seeking the disqualification of the 11 party legislators under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
But Pyngrope had said such complaints must be lodged by a member of the state legislature, under section 6(2) of the Members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1988.
