Aizawl, May 14: Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga, who is also the Mizo National Front president, today allayed fears that the Congress-led government at the Centre would dissolve the MNF ministry. With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) voted out of power in Delhi, doubts have been raised within the ruling MNF over the fate of the government. The MNF had joined the NDA in January this year.
Zoramthanga expressed his opinion at a function here today where the new MP and MLA of the MNF were being felicitated.
Describing the dissolution of ministries in states ruled by Opposition parties by the Centre as “old-fashioned”, Zoramthanga assured his party workers that the soon-to-be formed Congress-led government would never dare to resort to such tactics.
“The dissolution of an Opposition-led government in the state by the Centre is a thing of the past and has become old-fashioned. Unless there is a constitutional breakdown in the state, the new government would never dissolve this ministry. In this age of coalition governments, just like the BJP in the NDA, the allies of the Congress — such as the DMK and the Left Front — would never allow such a thing to happen without valid cause. Even if our worse fears come true, the courts will never tolerate such illegal methods,” Zoramthanga said. He said since plan funds were chalked out in advance for five years by the Planning Commission, they could not be frozen by the new government at the Centre.
Taking the NDA’s defeat in his stride, Zoramthanga said it was a message by the Indian electorate to all political parties that extremism in any form would not be tolerated.
Zoramthanga also congratulated Sonia Gandhi and her party for the victory as well as state Congress leader Lalthanhawla and his colleagues. But state PCC leaders warned the MNF to be careful.
PCC vice-president Saikapthianga claimed that the MNF government had violated all constitutional norms when it had arbitrarily dissolved some of the Opposition village councils in the state. If the trend continues and the law and order situation does not improve, the MNF government would suffer the consequences, he said.
“Using the governor’s discretionary powers, the MNF government had dissolved several of the democratically-elected village councils in total disregard of the Constitution.
The law and order situation in the state has deteriorated below acceptable levels under the MNF regime, particularly with respect to the free run enjoyed by militants,” Saikapthianga said. John Rotluangliana, the Congress youth leader, said the Centre would not give the go-ahead to the Bru accord “without letting the state Congress unit know what is going on.”