DIMAPUR, July 14 - Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court today issued an order staying the directive of Nagaland Governor PB Acharya till July 17, the day of presidential election, to Chief Minister Dr Sh�rhozelie Liezietsu to obtain a vote of confidence on the floor of the State Assembly.
The Governor had on July 10 directed the Chief Minister to seek the trust vote on the floor of the House on or before July 15 following the claim submitted by former Chief Minister TR Zeliang to form the new government.
The High Court order came after Liezietsu today filed a writ petition before it against directive of the Governor in line with the Supreme Court verdict in regard to intervention by then Arunachal Governor JP Rajkhowa in Nabam Rebia and Bamang Felix vs Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Speaker case.
Sh�rhozelie, in a letter to Nagaland Speaker Dr Imtiwpang Aier on July 11, maintained that the Supreme Court had clearly laid down that the Governor has no authority on his own to summon, prorogue or dissolve the Assembly. The Governor can only do so on the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister, he stated.
Meanwhile, Governor Acharya returned to Kohima from Delhi this afternoon. Acharya on Thursday reiterated his request to Chief Minister Lieziesu to positively prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly on or before July 15.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, the Governor said the Chief Minister�s refusal to summon an emergent session of the Assembly did not seem justified. He pointed out that the Chief Minister in his reply did not refute the claim of TR Zeliang of enjoying support of 44 MLAs in the House of 59. He contended that it is not whether �this issue� is an internal party matter of NPF but whether the CM enjoyed the support of the majority of the members of the House.
Acharya also informed Lieziets� that from the material available with him it prima facie appeared that the Chief Minister had lost the support of the majority of the members of the House.� The Governor therefore requested the Chief Minister to call for an emergent session of the Assembly to prove his majority on the floor of the House as early as possible.
Meanwhile, the dissident Nagaland MLAs who were camping at Borgos Resort in Kaziranga were evacuated from the flooded resort by Assam�s State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) today morning and they reached Nagaland in the evening. The SDRF reportedly used a boat to evacuate the MLAs and other people from the area.
A number of supporters of the dissident MLAs were seen lining up along the highway from Dimapur to Kohima to welcome them back home.
