Nagaland: Congress demands nullification of advisor appointments

The Congress party has called for the Nagaland Governor La Ganesan to nullify the appointment of 24 newly-elected MLAs as advisors in various departments, citing that the government violated constitutional provisions. According to state Congress working president Khriedi Theunuo, the newly-elected MLAs did not take oath as legislators before their appointment, and without doing so, they are not "full-fledged MLAs" of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly.

The Congress expressed concern that the appointments represent a violation of the constitutional principles of the separation of powers between the legislature, judiciary and executive, which is the basic structure of the Constitution of India. Despite this, the NDPP-BJP government appointed the MLAs as advisors to various government departments, stating that the move would "utilise the vast and practical experience of the members of NLA for the benefit of the public at large."

The Congress also raised concerns over the appointment of Mhathung Yanthan as the speaker pro tem, stating that this was in contravention of the laid down norms, as Yanthan had already been given executive powers as an Advisor along with 23 other members of the NDPP-BJP government on Thursday, while he took oath as the Pro-tem Speaker only on Friday. The Congress, which did not win any seats in the state elections, is seeking the intervention of the governor to nullify the appointment of the advisors and the speaker pro tem.

The notification issued on March 9 stated that the advisors would render their advice on matters that are referred to them by the departments concerned before it is taken up by the minister in charge for a decision. The NDPP-BJP alliance won 37 seats in the 60-member Nagaland assembly.