Rahul Gandhi seeks disqualification of 12 Manipur BJP MLAs in 2018 'office of profit' case

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday demanded the disqualification of 12 BJP legislators from Manipur in the 2018 'office of profit' case. According to him, Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla had failed to take requisite action despite being instructed in this regard by the Election Commission of India. The Wayanad MP asserted that it was entirely constitutional of Heptualla to protect BJP. Earlier in the day, Gandhi interacted with a delegation of Manipur Congress MLAs to discuss the danger to democracy in the state. 

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Congress alleges 'office of profit'

As per the Constitution, an MP/MLA/MLC cannot hold any office of profit under the state or the Central government. While a Ministerial berth is an exception to this rule, some states including Manipur also provided legal cover for the post of Parliamentary Secretary. As the total number of Ministers in the state has to be within 15% of the strength of the Assembly, many state governments have been inclined to appoint certain MLAs as Parliamentary Secretaries. The present controversy arose when the Manipur Parliamentary Secretary (Appointment, Salary and Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2012, and the Manipur Parliamentary (Appointment, Salary and Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Repealing Act, 2018 were declared unconstitutional by the Manipur High Court in a verdict dated September 17, 2020.

Subsequently, Congress approached the Manipur Governor seeking the disqualification of 12 MLAs appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries for enjoying office of profit from 2017 onwards. In October, Heptulla sought the EC's views in this regard. However, the chances of these MLAs attracting disqualification appear slim as the aforesaid laws were in existence when they held the office of Parliamentary Secretary. 

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Congress fails to topple Manipur government

The N Biren Singh-led government's victory on the floor of the Assembly on August 10, 2020, brought to an end the political uncertainty prevailing in the state since June 17 when 9 MLAs including the Deputy CM withdrew support to the BJP government. 8 Congress MLAs stayed away from the Assembly proceedings despite the party issuing a whip to vote against the trust motion moved by the Chief Minister. The government was supported by 28 members including the 4 NPP MLAs on the floor of the Assembly. 

Meanwhile, two Congress legislators Th Lokeshwar and Mirabai Devi reportedly threw chairs and benches in the Assembly alleging that the confidence motion was not conducted properly. In a major jolt for Congress, 6 out of the 8 abstaining Congress MLAs submitted their resignations to the Speaker on the same day. At present, there are 17 Congress MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly whereas the state government has the support of 35 MLAs which includes 23 BJP legislators.

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