Governor's rule imposed in Mizoram tribal autonomous body

Aizawl, Dec 17 After 56-months of instability, Governor's rule has been promulgated in the politically important Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC), one of the three tribal autonomous constitutional bodies in Mizoram, officials said here on Saturday.

The Governor's rule was imposed by the state government for 6 months and the Deputy Commissioner of Lawngtlai district has been appointed as caretaker on behalf of the Governor to exercise such functions or powers vested in or exercisable by the CADC with immediate effect.

Officials said that the CADC's Chief Executive Member (CEM) Buddha Lila Chakma resigned from his post earlier and the Mizoram governor Hari Babu Kambhampati accepted hs resignation on November 17 and then Rasik Mohan Chakma staked claim to be the CEM of the CADC.

"The Governor is of the firm opinion that this constant change of administration due to political maneuvering is extremely damaging for the welfare of the CADC and its people, and is certainly not what is intended by the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which envisions the effective administration of the tribal areas," said a notification issued on Friday night.

It said that a Commission, constituted earlier, has submitted its report recently, stating that in the absence of recruitment rules, a number of irregular activities have occurred in the CADC without following proper procedures.

Tribal leaders criticised the state government's decision.

Chakma Development Foundation of India's (CDFI) founder Suhas Chakma said that the imposition of the governor's rule in the CADC is bad in law, arbitrary and without any nexus. The CADC is a constitutional body having its own house and as per the constitutional scheme of things laid down by the Supreme Court in S.R. Bommai case, all what matters is whether a party in question has the majority to prove on the floor of the house or not.

The same was not done by the Governor, Suhas Chakma said in a statement.

"If political maneuvering damaging the welfare of the people is the ground for imposition of the Governor's or President's Rule, the same rule can be imposed in all the Autonomous District Councils, States and India too," the CDFI leader said.

The instability in the CADC has continued after no political parties secured absolute majority in the elections to the 20-member CADC held in April, 2018.

Amidst a hung council and the BJP, which won five seats, tried to form the governance in the CADC with its arch rival Congress, which bagged seven seats, rather than its NDA ally, the Mizo National Front, having eight members.

For the all round socio-economic development of different tribal communities, Mizoram has three tribal autonomous bodies Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC), Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) and the CADC.