‘Raj Bhavans being used again to unseat govts’

With Union Cabinet recommending imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh, former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah on Sunday alleged that Raj Bhavan were being used “again to unseat elected governments by encouraging defections”.

“There is something deeply unsettling about the way Raj Bhavans are being used again to unseat elected governments by encouraging defections,” the National Conference leader wrote on Twitter. The Union Cabinet on Sunday recommended imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh, which is facing a political turmoil. Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet met this morning and recommended imposition of President’s rule in the hill state.

The state was rocked by a political crisis on December 16 last year as 21 rebel Congress MLAs joined hands with 11 of BJP and two independents to ‘impeach’ Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia at a makeshift venue. Later, a total of 33 members in the 60-member house, including 20 dissident Congress MLAs, “elected” another dissident Congressman Kalikho Pul as the new “CM” of the state. The Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and his 26 supporting MLAs boycotted the proceedings terming them as “illegal and unconstitutional”.