By IANS
New Delhi : The union cabinet Monday discussed the issue of imposing President’s rule in Nagaland following political instability in the northeastern state, but failed to arrive at any decision.
The subject of imposing President’s rule came up during a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Well-placed government sources told IANS that the issue was discussed briefly during the meeting but a decision was deferred to a later date as it was felt that imposing President’s rule at this juncture will not benefit the Congress.
The political stability of the Nagaland government has come under a cloud with two Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) legislators deserting the party to join the newly-formed Congress-led Nagaland Progressive Alliance (NPA).
The NPF is a major ally of the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN). With two of its legislators defecting to the Congress-led alliance it has reduced Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s government to a minority.
Following the defections, the Congress on Dec 13 moved a no-confidence motion against the Rio government, but the speaker had ruled favouring the government and said that the votes of defected legislators could not be counted.
In support of his ruling, the speaker also submitted reports of some legal experts to assert that his ruling was perfectly legal.
Following dismissal of the no-confidence motion, the Congress legislators met President Pratibha Patil, seeking imposition of President’s rule while Chief Minister Rio met union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, opposing the move.