Arunachal Pradesh crisis: How a

rebellion spun out of control

With Pranab Mukherjee clearing President’s rule in the state, a look at how a group of
rebel MLAs and an Assembly session held in a community hall led to the present
situation
Written by Samudra Gupta Kashyap | Updated: January 27, 2016 1:10 pm

What is this crisis about?

On December 9, a group of rebel Congress MLAs approached Governor J P
Rajkhowa, seeking to impeach Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia. The rebel MLAs
were upset with Rebia, who is a cousin of Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and seen as
being in his camp, because they said he was trying to get them disqualified from
the Assembly. Though the Assembly was not in session, Governor Rajkhowa
agreed it was an urgent matter. Since the Assembly was originally slated to
convene only on January 14, the Governor called for an emergency session of the
Assembly on December 16, 2015, to take up the impeachment motion. As the
Congress approached the High Court and later the Constitution bench of the
Supreme Court against the Governor’s convening of the special session, the Centre
called for President’s rule in the state under Article 356 of the Constitution. The
Congress cried foul, saying this was the first instance of Article 356 being imposed
while the case was being heard in court.
What happened during the special Assembly session?
On December 16, the special session of the House was held in a community hall as
the government and Speaker prevented the session from being held in the
Assembly. Deputy Speaker T N Thongdok, believed to be on the anti-Tuki side,
presided over the special session that was attended by 20 rebel Congress MLAs (of
the total 42), 11 BJP MLAs and two Independents. The rebels, along with the 13
others, passed the impeachment motion. The special session also moved a no-
confidence motion against CM Tuki.
At the end of the session, Tuki was ‘defeated’ in a floor test and the ‘House’
‘elected’ Kalikho Pul as the new Leader of the House. The same day, the Speaker
issued an order disqualifying 14 rebel Congress MLAs. The following day,
Speaker Rebia moved the High Court. On January 5, 2015, Justice B K Sarma of
the Gauhati High Court stayed the disqualification of the 14 Congress MLAs. The
Speaker’s plea for his case to be heard in another court was turned down,
prompting him to approach the Supreme Court.
What is the present status of the case?
On January 15, the apex court referred the entire batch of petitions filed by the
Speaker against the Deputy Speaker and others to a Constitution Bench, which is
now examining the scope of the discretionary powers of the Governor. That’s
when the Centre moved to impose Article 356.
Does Arunachal Pradesh have a history of instability?
Rebellions against the incumbent have been a recurring feature of governments in
the state since the time of Gegong Apang, when rebel leader Mukut Mithi pulled
the rug from under the CM’s feet on January 18, 1999, seven years after he had
failed in his first attempt. Similar attempts were made when Dorjee Khandu was
CM, but he was killed in a chopper crash in May 2011. Present CM Tuki had come
to power in November 2011 after Jarbom Gamlin had to quit in the wake of a
serious law and order situation that subsided immediately after the change.
When did CM Tuki’s troubles begin?
Though Tuki led the Congress to a remarkable victory in the Assembly election, he
had to drop and induct ministers very often in order to quell rebellion within the
Congress Legislature Party (CLP). In December 2014 , Tuki dropped veteran
minister Kalikho Pul and got him expelled him from the Congress. But his
mounting problems coincided with the Centre appointing former Assam chief
secretary J P Rajkhowa as Governor on June 1, 2015. On October 6, 2015, two
young rebel Congress MLAs Gabriel Denwang Wangsu and Wanglam Sawin
resigned from the Assembly, but later alleged that their resignation letter was fake
and that they had been forced to sign it during a dinner at the CM’s residence. Two
days later, Tuki dropped four senior ministers. Two weeks later, another minister,
Pema Khandu, resigned after accusing Tuki of being “inefficient”. By then, Tuki
had already developed a strained relationship with Governor Rajkhowa and almost
half his MLAs were against him.
The Congress has accused Rajkhowa of overstepping his constitutional
authority. How justified is that charge?
As a bureaucrat, Rajkhowa is known as someone who always went by the rule-
book. In September 2015, Rajkhowa wrote to the PM, accusing Tuki and Speaker
Rebia of owning land in a plot selected for an airport, where, he alleged, they
would make financial gains. In the present case, Rajkhowa allegedly called the
special session without taking the CM and his ministers into confidence. He has,
however, maintained that he went purely by the Constitution.
What’s the BJP’s role in the crisis?
MoS for Home Kiren Rijiju has said the BJP is not interested in forming a
government. Till last week, the Congress rebels claimed they were still with the
party.

Arunachal Pradesh verdict: The

timeline of the case so far
What led to today's Supreme Court verdict on the situation in Arunachal Pradesh
In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court restored the Congress government in
Arunachal Pradesh, declaring the actions of Governor JP Rajkhowa ‘illegal’ and
violative of the constitutional provisions.
The ruling is seen by many as a snub for the BJP as it had supported the formation
of a government led by rebel leader Kalikho Pul. It also came ironically on a day
when the BJP is gearing up to launch the Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA)
in Guwahati, a meeting of all parties in the northeast which are allies of the BJP.
Kalikho Pul was also expected to attend the meeting, although that looks unlikely
now in the event of the Supreme Court ruling.
The top court’s ruling is the first time when it has reinstated a government even
after a new government was formed in its place. It’s also a boost for the Congress,
which has accused the BJP of trying to bring down democratically-elected
governments.
So how did the crisis begin?
December, 2015 – It started on December 9, when a group of rebel Congress
MLAs approached Governor JP Rajkhowa seeking to impeach Speaker Nabam
Rebia. Their complaint was that he was trying to get them disqualified from the
Assembly. The Governor agreed and called for an emergency session on December
16 to take up the impeachment motion. Congress protested the Governor’s action,
but the Centre went ahead and imposed President’s Rule in the state invoking
Article 356. In the special session attended by 20 rebel Congress MLAs, 11 BJP
MLAs and 2 Independents at a community hall, the impeachment motion was
passed and Pul was ‘elected’ as the Leader of the House. The same day, the
Speaker disqualified 14 Congress MLAs.
WATCH VIDEO: SC Restores Congress Rule in Arunachal, Nabam
Tuki welcomes the verdict
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/arunachal-pradesh-presidents-rule-
supreme-court-nabam-tuki-2910630/
January 5, 2016 – The Gauhati High Court stayed the disqualification of the
Congress MLAs and the Speaker’s plea was turned down.
January 15, 2016 – The Supreme Court referred the entire batch of petitions filed
by the Speaker to a constitution bench, which is examining the discretionary
powers of the Governor.
January 29, 2016 – Nabam Tuki filed a fresh petition in the Supreme Court
challenging the imposition of President”s Rule in the state.
January 30, 2016 – The Centre justified the imposition of President’s Rule in the
state citing complete breakdown of law and order. It also said the Congress
government was in a minority there.
February 2, 2016 – Governor Rajkhowa said the President’s rule in the state was
temporary and that a new elected government would soon be formed in its place.
February 4, 2016 – The Supreme Court, examining the powers of Governors,
took strong note of a submission that all decisions of the Governor are not open to
judicial review and said it cannot be a mute spectator when democratic processes
are “slaughtered”.
February 10, 2016 – The top court rejected the pleas of the rebel Congress MLAs
against the Speaker.
February 19, 2016 – President’s Rule lifted in the state
February 20, 2016 – Dissident leader Kalikho Pul was sworn in as the ninth
Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh with the support of 18 rebel Congress MLAs,
and two Independents and 11 BJP MLAs who gave outside support. Pul’s
swearing-in came a day after the Supreme Court vacated its interim order to
maintain status quo in the Arunachal Pradesh assembly, paving the way for
government formation.
February 23, 2016 – The Supreme Court observed that it was empowered to “set
the clock back” if there were constitutional violations in the manner in which the
Arunachal Pradesh Governor issued orders that have eventually led to formation of
a new government in the state.
February 25, 2016 – Pul won the vote of confidence without any opposition on
the first day of the state assembly session, with 17 Congress MLAs including
former chief minister Nabam Tuki remaining absent in the House.
March 3, 2016 – 30 rebel Congress MLAs who sided with CM Pul merged with
People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), leaving no scope for the Congress to take any
legal action against them. The merger took place with the CM announcing it at
Naharlagun. He said they were “compelled” to take the decision as Congress had
“shut all its doors” despite all of them asserting that they continued to belong to it.
May 6, 2016 – Top leaders of the Congress party took out a march from Jantar
Mantar against what it called the ‘undemocratic’ policies of the Centre with regard
to the imposition of President’s Rule in the states of Arunachal and Uttarakhand.
Some of the leaders courted arrest before they were released by the police.
July 13, 2016 – The Supreme Court turned the clock back and restored the
Congress government in the state. The court said the Governor’s actions were
‘illegal.’
http://indianexpress.com/tag/arunachal-pradesh-crisis/

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/arunachals-double-crisis/

http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/arunachal-crisis-how-courts-and-constitution-have-
defined-gov-role/

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/presidents-rule-in-arunachal-pradesh-sc-
issues-notice-to-centre-next-hearing-on-february-1/

http://www.importantindia.com/1707/state-secretariats-in-india/

http://www.oneindia.com/feature/what-is-a-floor-test-in-indian-parliament-2095580.html

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/arunachal-pradesh-presidents-rule-
quashed-by-sc-nabam-tuki-reinstated-as-cm/