By Oken Jeet Sandham<\/p>\n
KOHIMA, Jun 26 (NEPS): The news of the formal merger of three NCP MLAs, Dr TM Lotha, Imtilemba Sangtam and Mmhonlumo Kikon, with the BJP in Nagaland, which was done on June 16, 2014, refuse to die down as the NCP National Party continues to mislead the general public on the \u201cmerger\u201d with the BJP in Nagaland.<\/p>\n
Reacting to a news item appeared in section of local dailies that \u201cNCP National president Sarad Pawar, angered over the second such defection of NCP legislators in the State, has issued suspension orders against the three \u2013 ex-president Imtilemba Sangtam, Dr TM Lotha and Mmhonlumo Kikon,\u201d Dr Lotha wondered as to how they would issue such orders on June 17, 2014 in the \u201cpost-merger\u201d development.
\n\u201cBecause the three NCP MLAs including myself with our supporters have formally merged with the BJP in Nagaland on June 16, 2014 and all the constitutionally relevant papers to this effect have also been officially submitted to the Honourable Speaker of Nagaland Legislative Assembly on the same day at 3:00 PM,\u201d he asserted. He further termed as \u201cridiculous and misleading\u201d the so-called \u201csuspension orders\u201d issued by the NCP National Party on June 17, 2014 in the post-merger of the three NCP MLAs.
\n\u201cI want to further make it very clear that when the three MLAs formally merged with the BJP, they had become bonafide members of that party (BJP), and then the NCP president has no locus standi to suspend another national political party which does not belong to their party,\u201d he said.
\nDr Lotha, who was first BJP Home Minister in the DAN-I Ministry, categorically stated that there was nothing wrong for them as elected members of a political party to merge with another political party as such exercise is permitted as per the \u201c10th Schedule of the Anti-Defection Law\u201d of the Constitution of India.<\/p>\n
Asked why he had to leave the NCP in Nagaland, Dr Lotha said there was no future for NCP in Nagaland and they could not afford remaining as NCP MLAs when there was no future. \u201cSo after thorough deliberations, we have resolved to formally merge along with our supporters with the BJP in Nagaland for the larger interest of the people of Nagaland and the BJP,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Asked his comment on the delay of issuing any notification to their merger claim by the Speaker, he said after submission of all the relevant documents with regard to their three NCP MLAs\u2019 merger claim with the BJP in Nagaland to him (Speaker) on June 16, 2014, they had also provided some more additional documents as desired by him. Besides that the former NCP Office Bearers led by Imtilemba Sangtam appeared before him on June 24, 2014 to validate their credentials. \u201cI think the ball is in his court,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n