SHILLONG, OCT 5: Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) chief executive member PN Syiem slammed the state government for allegedly going against the Constitution of India in view of the reply made by the ECI in 2012.
“Going by the reply of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in 2012, it has sends a wrong message what the State Assembly did on September 24, by passing the Prevention of Disqualification (Members of the Legislative Assembly Meghalaya) Bill, 2015,” Syiem told reporters at a news conference on Monday.
While referring to the provision of Article 191 (i) (a), the Election Commission of India in its reply had clearly stated – “As per the Constitution of India, being an elected member of a local authority is not a disqualification for membership of a State Legislative Assembly, as it is not an office under the government.”
This was the reply of the Commission to a petition filed by the president of the Civil Society Women’s Organization (CSWO) Irene Hujon on June 28, 2012 against MLAs who are also MDC in the district councils (ADCs) of the state.
He said, “It (ECI) is very clear that MDC is not under the state government and therefore the members of the district council cannot be removed by the state government.”
“What the assembly did on September 24 is failure to carry the duty as per the provision of the Indian Constitution Syiem added. When asked, he said, “If the matter is taken to court, I feared that it would only embarrass the state government.”
According to him, the reply of the ECI is clear that prevention of disqualification is only for those appointments under the state government. Whether he would approach the ECI on the issue Syiem however said that anything replied by the ECI remains standing.- By Our Reporter
The Election Commission of India would have rejected the nomination papers of the elected MLA who had filed for the MDC election had the Article 191 (i) (a) is not enforced.