Six Manipur Congress MLAs on Tuesday submitted their resignation to Assembly Speaker Yumnam Khemchand.
They are among the eight who defied a party whip and skipped the trust vote that the BJP-led coalition government headed by Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren won via voice vote on Monday evening.
Their resignations have been accepted “from the forenoon of Tuesday”, a notice from Assembly Secretary M. Ramani Devi said.
The six – Okram Henry, Oinam Lukhoi, Md Abdul Nasir, Paonam Brojen, Ngamthang Haokip and Ginsuanhau – are expected to resign from the Congress soon.
Mr. Henry is the nephew of former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi, who in June staked claim to form a government after nine MLAs had withdrawn support to Mr. Biren.
Although a “lack of trust in the State party’s leadership” is believed to have made the six quit, the Congress said they would face action for disobeying the party whip. It also criticised the Speaker.
“At what time did the six Congress MLAs submit their resignation letters to the Speaker? Can the Speaker accept their resignations during the session when the whip was issued to all the Congress MLAs much earlier?” asked Congress spokesperson Ningombam Bupenda Meitei.
‘Murder of democracy’
Soon after the trust vote, Mr. Ibobi termed the Speaker’s style of functioning “murder of democracy” for opting for voice vote instead of division vote that the Congress had demanded.
The 60-member Assembly had an effected strength of 53 during the election to the State’s lone Rajya Sabha seat in June after the Speaker disqualified four MLAs under the anti-defection law while three BJP legislators had resigned.
Counting the six members who resigned, the Congress currently has 24 MLAs, followed by the BJP with 18. The latter’s coalition partners, the National People’s Party and the Naga People’s Front, have four each, while All India Trinamool Congress and the Lok Jan Shakti Party have one each. The remaining MLA is an independent.
Assembly elections in the State are due in early 2022.