In a major setback to P A Sangma’s infant political coalition, the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA), the Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down the plea of challenging Governor S S Sidhu’s decision to invite the Congress-the single largest party with 25 seats out of 60- to form the government in Meghalaya and cutting short the 10-day period for floor test to prove his majority.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and also including Justice R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari while turning down the plea of C K Sangma, son of NCP leader P A Sangma to reduce the floor-test period from 10 days, said they were not inclined to hear the matter now and fixed March 24, as the next date of hearing, by which the floor-test will have been over.
By March 24, when the case would come up a fresh matter for next hearing, it would obviously loose its significance for the MPA.
Advocate Soli Sorabjee, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the Governor kept aside all democratic norms when he invited the Congress with 25-legislators only instead of 31-member Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) to form the government.
He said that the MPA had lined up all the 31-member before the Governor and the leader of the post-poll alliance staked claim to form the government. But in the act of blatant political partisanship, the Governor sworn in D D Lapang as Chief Minister and gave him 10 days to pass the floor test.
Sorabjee argued that as per the norm, the chief minister-lacking majority was given a minimum of five and a maximum of seven days to prove his majority to retain charge.
The Court responded saying that it would be unfair not to give Lapang the benefit of doubt. “We are proceeding on the basis that the members are honourable men. Why are you assuming that they can be bought? If you are sure of your men, you don’t have to worry,” the court questioned.
Lapang’s challenge
Lapang was the first to sworn in as Chief Minister followed by seven legislators who sworn in on Wednesday. Of the seven legislators, Lapang gave cabinet rank to five. All the three Independents who joined the Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) formed on Tuesday March 11, were rewarded with ministerial berths.
Now the challenge before Lapang is to keep his saviours pleased without offending his Congress colleagues. The task is not as easy as Meghalaya cannot have more than 12 ministers.
What constitution says?
The constitution makes no distinction between a pre-poll alliance and post-poll alliance. What matters is the ability to secure the confidence of the House by proving majority of his party.
The party or coalition of party that gets the first chance to form the government has an apparent advantage in terms of switching loyalty of some of the members by offering them political or personal gains.
But overlooking the claims of alliance that has been able to put together a majority and instead allowing a party or coalition that does not command a majority in the first instance to form the government- is a clear-cut concern of horse-trading and the Governor had no business to privilege Lapang’s claim to form the government.
What history says?
In this regard, a classic case of 13-day Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the centre headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee can be cited. Vajpayee was invited by the President Shankar Dayal Sharma to form the government on the principle of “single largest party” and thus overlooked the claim of Deve Gowda, who was accompanied with letters of support pointing his majority in the Lok Sabha.
Vajpayee was given 10 days to pass on the floor-test in the House. But the BJP lost the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha in 1996 and thus the 13-day NDA government ended in fiasco.
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