Speaker told to reconvene house regardless of difficulties at once

IMPHAL, February 7: The Governor of Manipur, Ved Marwah, in a letter that hardly conceals his impatience at the manner in which the Assembly affairs have been conducted, directed the Speaker S Dhananjoy Singh, to reconvene without any further ado with the warning that his failure to comply will attract "serious consequences". Today's message is the third in a series that the Governor dispatched to the Speaker, directing the latter to reconvene the House and dispose of the no-confidence motion against the council ministers that he admitted on the first day of the Winter session on December 1, before adjourning the House sine die. The Governor also sent a letter to Chief Minister, Wahengbam Nipamacha, informing the latter of the urgency to dispose of the no-confidence motion against his ministry. The letter also reminded the Chief Minister of the "serious consequences" non-compliance can result in. It may be recalled the earlier deadline by the Governor for the reconvening of the House expired yesterday (February 6). In the stern message to the Assembly Speaker S Dhananjoy Singh, the Governor's irritation is unmistakable: "The House may please resume its sittings immediately and consider without any further delay the duly admitted no-confidence motion in the Council of ministers. The House itself may consider matters regarding allocation of time etc for the debate on the motion and no meeting of leaders or the BAC (Business Advisory Committee) need be called for the purpose. Also the House must meet immediately irrespective of the present state of repairs of the Assembly Hall. "Non-compliance with the Constitutional Directive of Article 175 (2) would be violative of the constitution and norms of Parliamentary polity and may lead to serious consequences." The Governor's comment on a reply by the Speaker to one of his earlier messages also speaks loudly of his consternation. Meanwhile it is learnt that the repair work to the damages caused to the Assembly Hall on December 1, is likely to be completed in a day or two.