Spectre of President's Rule looms large in Manipur

GUWAHATI, February 7: The spectre of President's Rule looms large in Manipur as the constitutional crisis in the state has peaked with Chief Minister W. Nipamacha Singh and state Assembly Speaker Sapam Dhananjoy engaged in a bitter feud over supremacy. State governor Ved Marwah had recently asked the 60-member State Assembly to re-convene by February 6 to take up the no-confidence motion against the United Legislature Front government of Chief Minister Singh. Raj Bhawan sources in Imphal said that the Speaker has since informed the governor of his inability to convene the House. "The Speaker has communicated to the governor that due to the repair work currently underway inside the Assembly premises, the House cannot be convened," the sources said. The last sitting of the House was on December 1 last year when the Speaker admitted an Opposition-sponsored no-trust motion against the Chief Minister before adjourning the Assembly sine die. State Assembly rules say that a no-confidence motion against any ruling government need to be discussed within 10 days of its admission. Governor Marwah, according to well informed sources, may now use his powers to prorogue the House in a day or two and convene it himself 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. The ruling UPF 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. 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 in 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. MSF sources close to the Chief Minister say that the Speaker is not re-convening the House because he was waiting for the balance to tilt in his favour, possibly awaiting defections that could swell the strength of the Opposition combine. However, talking to The NewsPaperToday on Tuesday, the Speaker 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." Speaker Dhananjoy 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." There are other voices who are clamouring for President's Rule in the state. The lone Congress MLA and former Chief Minister Rishang Keishing said that the Centre should have long sacked the present state government and clamped direct rule. "There is no law and order and the treasury is empty. There is an all-round chaos in the state," Keishing said. He said Prime Minister Vajpayee's government has refrained from imposing President's Rule in Manipur because it was against antagonising the regional parties which are its allies. Keishing said the state Budget was to be passed in the House by January. "Till now, the Budget is not placed or passed by the House. This could result in the state government employees not getting their salaries this month," he said.