GUWAHATI: Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang has sniffed a political conspiracy in the ongoing protests against the holding of urban local bodies (ULBs) elections in the state.
He told reporters on Tuesday that he could not understand why the protests continued till date when his government acceded to the demands of protesting groups, such as Joint Coordination Committee and Nagaland Tribes’ Action Committee, to declare the polls held in some towns on February 1 as null and void.
“If my resignation is their sole agenda now, and if women reservation, Article 371 A and holding of polls to ULBs are non-issues, it is purely political in nature and I suspect some organisations are being misused by some politically-vested interests for their own selfish political motives,” Zeliang said.
Replying to questions if he would step down as demanded by the protestors, he said all the 58 legislators of the Assembly (excluding the Speaker and himself) continued to support his leadership and that “there is no reason why I should step down.”
“The Supreme Court had made it very clear in the SR Bommai Case that majority or minority support a chief minister enjoys can only be determined on the floor of the House. And till date, not a single MLA has withdrawn support to my leadership,” Zeliang said.
He also said that the floor of the Assembly was the only place to decide whether a chief minister should continue or step down and not “through protests or violence on the streets.”
Replying to a query as to how many MLAs support the leadership of former chief minister and current Lok Sabha MP Neiphiu Rio, Zeliang said he was not aware of Rio being supported by any MLA.
In 2014, when the then chief minister Rio chose to be in Parliament and vacated the chief minister’s position, it was Zeliang who took over the seat. When Rio wanted his chair back, after being denied a ministerial berth in Delhi, the doors were closed.
Asked about Congress’s demand for imposition of President’s rule, Zeliang said there was no Constitutional breakdown in the state as his “government is steadfastly ensuring the Constitutional obligations are fulfilled.”