Speaker set to grab CM Nipamacha's chair

GUWAHATI, February 11: The Nipamacha Singh ministry in Manipur was on Sunday reduced to minority following a split in the legislature wing of Manipur State Congress Party, lead partner of the ruling United Legislature Front, setting off hectic parleys in the main Opposition alliance Manipur Democratic Front to form an alternative. Sports minister M. Hemanta Singh and seven other MLAs broke away from the 31-member MSCP legislature party saying they had withdrawn support to the Nipamacha Singh ministry reducing its strength to 27 in the 60-member House with an effective strength of 59. Speaking to The Newspaper Today on telephone from Imphal on Sunday, Dhananjoy said: "Seven ministers and an MLA came to my residence last night (February 10) and joined my group. I now have the support of 31 members in the 60-member state Assembly." The Manipur State Congress Party had decided to withdraw support to the NDA government of Prime Minister Vajpayee at the Centre. The MSCP will direct its lone MP, Union minister of state for food processing, Chaoba Singh, to resign from the Union ministry. The party has taken this decision in protest against the demand by some BJP and Samata Party leaders to dismiss the Nipamacha Singh government in Manipur and impose President's Rule. The Speaker has not convened the House since its last session on December 1, 2000 when he declared the Assembly adjourned sine die after admitting an Opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion against the government headed by Chief Minister Nipamacha Singh. This has led to an unprecedented constitutional crisis in the state. A no-confidence motion has to be taken up in the House within 10 days after its admission. But, Speaker Dhananjoy chose to ignore this rule. His critics have said that he has refrained from convening the House as he was waiting for more legislators to join his camp so that he could dislodge Nipamacha Singh and head the government himself. Dhananjoy has, however, denied these charges. The Speaker has now said that he would convene the Assembly by next Friday. "I shall be circulating a note to the legislators tomorrow saying that the House would be reconvened by Friday," he said. Sources close to the Speaker said that Dhananjoy could even be elected legislature party leader by his supporters in the next few days who could even give a new name to the combine that could be headed by him. The United Legislature Front government, now being headed by Nipamacha Singh, claims the support of 35 members while the Opposition conglomeration, the Manipur Democratic Front, has a strength of 23. Besides, there is a lone Congress member and one seat is vacant. The Speaker, now claiming that seven ministers and an MLA have deserted Nipamacha Singh and have joined his group, means that the strength of the ruling ULF remains the same and only support to the group's leader has changed. Things are highly volatile and only a no-trust vote in the House could clear the picture. State governor Ved Marwah, according to well-informed sources, was thinking of using his powers to prorogue the House and convene it himself if the Speaker did not oblige, as several key businesses, apart from the no-confidence motion, need to be conducted or discussed. The state Cabinet had thrice recommended to the governor that the House be prorogued and convened again. Both Chief Minister Singh and the Speaker belong to the same party, the Manipur State Congress. Relations soured when the Speaker openly lashed out at the Chief Minister for having "failed on all fronts." Soon after the Speaker criticised Nipamacha Singh, Opposition legislators expressed their support to the former and projected him as alternative Chief Ministerial candidate. However, the Speaker had earlier said: "I have no ambition of becoming the Chief Minister. All I am saying is that Chief Minister Nipamacha Singh and company have failed to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the people of Manipur. So, there has to be a change." In an extraordinary opinion, Speaker Dhananjoy had said that a stint of President's Rule may not be bad to "clean up the mess" in the state. He, however, hastened to add: "If not President's Rule, the House should at least be kept under suspended animation." With the numbers now tilting in his favour, the Speaker may not favour President's Rule in his state anymore. In the next few days, a change of guard is definitely expected in Manipur. In case the mess is not cleared even then, President's Rule is, of course, a definite option before the Centre.