Aizawl/Silchar, Dec. 4: Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga today stepped into his second term in office amid high drama, beginning with a mob attack on his convoy while it was proceeding to Raj Bhavan for the swearing-in ceremony. The chief minister?s car was waylaid and pelted with stones at Treasury Square, forcing him to beat a hasty retreat. The windshield and a portion of the vehicle?s roof were damaged, but Zoramthanga escaped unhurt.
The chief minister did not come out of his residence at Macdonald Hill again until an agreement was reached with the protesters, who were demanding the unconditional release of 20 youths who had been arrested on charges of damaging electronic voting machines in Suangpuilawn constituency. The 14-member ministry finally took the oath of office at 4.30pm, five hours behind schedule.
The three main Opposition parties ? the Congress, the Mizoram People?s Conference and the Zoram Nationalist Party ? had set the stage for the crisis by unexpectedly calling a bandh over the arrests in Suangpuilawn. The decision was reportedly taken around 2 am and, as news spread after dawn, residents of the capital town scurried back to their homes. Offices, educational institutions and shops did not open.
Though activists of the Opposition parties kept vigil on the streets, most of the invitees to the swearing-in ceremony and the Mizo National Front (MNF) legislators reached Raj Bhavan without being obstructed. However, there was no sign of Zoramthanga until about 11 am.
At the first glimpse of the chief minister?s convoy, the protesters blocked the way near the deputy commissioner?s office, which is a stone?s throw from the governor?s residence. The incident sparked a chain of events that kept the administration on tenterhooks throughout the day.
Around 1 pm, a magistrate?s vehicle was attacked in the same area. The magistrate, Benjamin Lalzara, suffered a small cut on his face. Though the administration clamped Section 144 in the area, the police did not do anything to disperse the crowd from Treasury Square. Nobody was arrested either for the attacks on the chief minister and the magistrate.
The impasse ended at 3 pm with negotiators striking a deal with the protesters. All 20 people arrested for allegedly damaging voting machines in Suangpuilawn, where counting of votes has yet to be completed, were released and brought to the Treasury Square.
Zoramthanga reached Raj Bhavan shortly thereafter and Governor A.R. Kohli began the swearing-in ceremony at 4.30pm.
Nine members of the new government, including the chief minister, are of Cabinet rank. They are Tawnluia, Richhana, Aichhinga, R. Tlanghmingthanga, R. Lalthangliana, H. Vanlalauva, H. Rammawi and B. Lalthlengliana. The ministers of state are Lalzama, K. Sangthuama, K. Vanlalauva, Z.H. Ropuia and C. Lalrinsanga.
Former forest minister Lalchamliana is the MNF?s choice for the Speaker?s post.
Zoramthanga?s party proved the pollsters and its detractors wrong by securing an absolute majority in an election that was expected to produce a hung Assembly. The party won 21 of the 40 seats at stake, leaving the Congress a distant second with 12.
For PCC president and three-time chief minister Lalthanhawla, it was a double whammy with Zoramthanga finishing ahead of him in the race for the Champhai seat. His consolation was winning at Serchhip.