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Turning back the clock
Once again, a Congress
Chief Minister unseated by internal rebellion that enjoyed the backing of a
friendly regime at the Centre is set to return to office.
A Constitution Bench
of the Supreme Court has ruled that status quo ante as
on December 15, 2015, should be restored in Arunachal Pradesh. This means that
Nabam Tuki will return as Chief Minister and Kalikho Pul, the dissident who
formed the government with the help of the BJP after a brief spell of
President’s Rule, and even proved his majority in a floor test in February,
will have to go. In political terms, the verdict is yet another rebuff to the
Narendra Modi government, after the Uttarakhand misadventure that led to the
reinstatement of Harish Rawat as Chief Minister. In Arunachal Pradesh, events
took an unseemly turn last December when the Governor, J.P. Rajkhowa,
intervened in an apparently partisan manner by advancing a session of the State
Assembly by nearly a month and asking the House to take up a motion to remove the
Speaker as the first item on the agenda. This led to a shutdown of the
legislature at the behest of the Chief Minister and the Speaker, and the
dissidents holding a parallel session at a makeshift venue, where the Speaker
was ‘removed’ and a ‘no-confidence’ motion against the government adopted. The
subsequent imposition of President’s Rule and the installation of the Pul
regime raised questions about the propriety of the BJP-led Central government’s
approach to Congress-ruled States.
Legally,
the main significance of the Arunachal Pradesh verdict lies in the clarity it
provides on the Governor’s role. The Governor has no authority to resolve
disputes within a political party; nor is he the conscience-keeper of the
legislature. He has no discretionary power to advance an Assembly session
without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers; nor can he fix its
agenda. On Mr. Rajkhowa’s defence that he was acting to prevent constitutional
improprieties such as a Speaker, for whose removal a motion was pending,
adjudicating on the disqualification of some MLAs, the Court has made three
points about the Governor’s intervention: he had no role in the removal of the
Speaker, he had no authority to interfere in the Speaker’s powers under the
anti-defection law, and he had no basis to act on the views of a group of 21
breakaway Congress MLAs, who clearly did not constitute a two-third fraction of
the 47-member Congress Legislature Party to be lawfully recognisable. Mr. Tuki
may now struggle to demonstrate his majority as 14 MLAs disqualified under his
regime have been reinstated by a recent judgment of the Gauhati High Court.
Whether he survives or not, this is not the last we will hear about the issue
of how manufactured majorities in State Assemblies are to be dealt with in the
constitutional scheme of things.
The Status Quo
Ante
>The Situation That Existed Before:
The Goal Is To Return As Closely As Possible To The Status Quo
Ante.
Dissident
A Person Who Publicly Disagrees With And Criticizes Their
Government:
Political Dissidents
Behest
At Sb's Behest/At The Behest Of Sb
Because Someone Has Asked Or Ordered You To Do Something:
The Budget Proposal Was Adopted At The Mayor's Behest.
Discretionary
Decided By Officials And Not Fixed By Rules:
A Discretionary Grant
Judges Have Great Discretionary Powers.
Adjudicate
To Act As Judge In A Competition Or Argument, Or To Make A
Formal Decision About Something:
He Was Asked To Adjudicate On The Dispute.
He Was Called In To Adjudicate A Local Land Dispute.
the status quo ante
>the situation that existed before:
The goal is to return as closely as possible to the status quo
ante.
dissident
a person who publicly disagrees with and criticizes their
government:
political dissidents
behest
at sb's behest/at the behest of sb
because someone has asked or ordered you to do something:
The budget proposal was adopted at the mayor's behest.
discretionary
decided by officials and not fixed by rules:
a discretionary grant
Judges have great discretionary powers.
adjudicate
to act as judge in a competition or argument, or to make a
formal decision about something:
He was asked to adjudicate on the dispute.
He was called in to adjudicate a local land dispute.
Law and diplomacy on South China Sea
As expected, Beijing
lost no time in rejecting the unanimous ruling of an international tribunal at
The Hague that China has no legal basis for much of its claims on the South
China Sea. But given the tribunal’s lack of powers to enforce its rulings, a resolution
of the dispute with the Philippines will have to be the stuff of international
diplomacy. Generally, this is not such a bad thing as judicial verdicts on
issues of contested sovereignty can trigger a nationalist backlash. The court
at The Hague ruled that China’s claims to the waters within the so-called
“nine-dash line”, with wide-ranging economic interests, was in breach of the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea. The case was brought to the court in 2013 by
the Philippines, centring on the Scarborough Shoal, but Beijing chose to
boycott the proceedings. Yet, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, while
asserting China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea, has committed to
negotiations with the Philippines following the ruling. Indeed, China now has more
compelling reasons to reconsider its overall position.
The
setback at The Hague comes at a critical juncture in China’s bid to bolster its
global economic status. This relates to its long-standing ambition to be
accorded recognition as a market economy under the World Trade Organisation. As
the 2016 deadline looms, China insists the upgrade is automatic as per WTO
rules. The European Parliament thinks otherwise, and voted overwhelmingly in a
non-binding resolution in May to delay a decision. Currently, Brussels levies
anti-dumping tariffs on imports from Beijing to mitigate the effects of
supposedly unfairly low prices on a range of commodities. Against this
backdrop, the Chinese leadership is unlikely to allow itself any distraction in
the form of a long-drawn confrontation in its backyard, with its adverse
diplomatic fallout. Instead, Beijing is more likely to rally support to its
cause for increased trade. History bears witness to a more constructive play of
diplomatic forces in similar high-stakes inter-state disputes. For instance,
although Washington ignored a 1986 verdict of the International Court of
Justice, concerted pressure led to the eventual end to U.S. backing for
Nicaraguan insurgents. In the current case at The Hague, the U.S. can’t exert
much moral pressure as it has not even ratified the United Nations Convention.
Conversely, as a party to the law alongside Manila, there is more pressure on
Beijing to comply. It is possible that big-power plays on the South China Sea
will now be behind us. After three years of litigation, this does not seem like
a bad thing after all.
unanimous
> If a group of people are unanimous, they all agree about
one particular matter or vote the same way, and if a decision or judgment is
unanimous, it is formed or supported by everyone in a group:
The jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty after a short
deliberation.
After a lengthy discussion we reached a unanimous decision on
the proposal.
The new format has unanimous support.
backlash
>a strong feeling among a group of people in reaction to a
change or recent events in society or politics:
the 60s backlash against bourgeois materialism
the backlash against feminism
breach
(BROKEN PROMISE/RULE)
an act of breaking a law, promise, agreement, or relationship:
They felt that our discussions with other companies constituted
a breach of/in our agreement.
He was sued for breach of contract.
setback
> something that happens that delays or prevents a process
from developing:
Sally had been recovering well from her operation, but yesterday
she experienced/suffered a setback.
There has been a slight/temporary setback in our plans.
loom
>to appear as a large, often frightening or unclear shape or
object:
Dark storm clouds loomed on the horizon.
litigation
>the process of taking a case to a court of law so that a
judgment can be made:
The company has consistently denied responsibility, but it
agreed to the settlement to avoid the expense of lengthy litigation.
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