Nabam Tuki's request for 10 days' time before Arunachal floor test rejected by Governor Tathagatha Ray.
Highlights
- Congress Nabam Tuki has to prove his majority tomorrow
- Removed in January when Centre declared President's Rule
- Supreme Court declared that decision illegal on Wednesday
The Congress will have to prove today that it has the right to govern Arunachal Pradesh. After he was reinstated two days ago by the Supreme Court as Chief Minister, Nabam Tuki has not been granted more time to take a trust vote.
Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:
Mr Tuki says that some Congress lawmakers are out of town; he wanted his trust vote to be held after 10 days.
That request was refused on Friday by officiating Governor Tathagatha Roy who says that the government appears to be in a minority.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that a series of decisions taken between December and March which included placing Arunachal Pradesh under President's Rule were illegal. The judges set the clock back to when Mr Tuki headed the government.
The top court, in an unprecedented move, ordered the removal of Congress dissident Kalikho Pul, who had taken over as Chief Minister in February, supported by other Congress rebels as well as the BJP.
The Arunachal Pradesh assembly has 60 seats, of which two are vacant. Mr Tuki needs 30 to win.
The Congress originally had 47 lawmakers, but 21 of them have turned rebel. If they do not support Mr Tuki, he cannot win the vote.
On Thursday, in a show of strength, Mr Pul held a press conference in Guwahati in neighbouring Assam, flanked by 40 lawmakers, including those of the BJP. "We are sure of our numbers and we are sure of defeating Tuki on the floor of the House," he said.
The BJP has declared that while Mr Tuki may have won the legal battle, he will not survive the trust vote. It has placed Himanta Biswa Sarma, a former Congressman who switched to the BJP and helped the party win the Assam election, in charge of its strategy.
Mr Sarma has convened the nearly 30 rebel Congressmen and all BJP lawmakers in a luxury hotel in Guwahati to ensure they cannot be wooed by Mr Tuki ahead of the vote.
The Congress after a series of electoral defeats, now governs just six states including Arunachal Pradesh.
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