IMPHAL, Dec 24: Manipur law minister Th Basanta Kumar Singh on Tuesday rejected Congress’s allegation that the state government had violated constitutional rules by not holding the winter session of the Assembly.
Talking to reporters, Kumar said Article 174 of the Constitution states that Houses of the legislature of the state shall be summoned to meet at least twice every year, and six months shall not intervene between the last sitting and the date appointed for the next session. The Budget and the Autumn sessions were held earlier this year.
“Manipur Congress’s allegation that rules of the Constitution have been violated is false. During the chief ministership of O Ibobi Singh from 2002 to 2016, there have been five occasions when assembly sessions were held twice in a calendar year. There is no question of violating constitutional provisions by the BJP-led government in the state,” he said.
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Kumar’s remark came in the wake of recent allegations by CLP leader O Ibobi Singh that the BJP-led government violated constitutional provisions by not holding the winter session of the assembly.
“The state government has always made efforts to implement the mandatory provisions of the Constitution and rules framed by the Manipur Legislative Assembly. It is pertinent to mention that in normal times, the government had always summoned the House three times, from 2017 to 2020,” he added.
“Following the Covid outbreak pandemic in 2021 and the unfortunate incident of May 3, 2023, the state government could not fulfil the conditions provided in the rules due to unavoidable circumstances and hardship faced by people during this period,” the minister added.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the pen-down strike by employees of the Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BOSEM) following the appointment of Akham Joykumar Singh as its chairman, Kumar said he was appointed in accordance with the rules and regulations.
“There were five applicants for the post and after examination of the eligibility criteria, Joykumar was appointed as chairman,” he added.
The minister appealed to call off the strike in the interests of the students. (PTI)
