MOH Farook: Talking tough

Ranchi, Oct. 1: Governor M..H. Farook today asked Arjun Munda to ensure that he kept his commitment to announce his cabinet on October 8, warning the chief minister against any further delays.

In a letter to Munda, the governor pointed out that he would cite violation of Article 164 (I-A) of the Constitution to the Union government in case he (Munda) failed to stick to his deadline.

“The chief minister will be solely responsible if there is any constitutional crisis,” Farook pointed out in his letter.

Munda, who was administered the oath of office along with two deputy chief ministers Hemant Soren and Sudesh Mahto on September 11, has delayed naming his council of ministers citing the inauspicious period of pitri paksha that is said to continue till October 7.

Article 164 (1-A) of the Constitution states that “the number of ministers, including the chief minister, will be 15 per cent of the House strength but not less than 12.”

As of now, there are only three members in the Munda cabinet, which is against the provisions of the article.

Farook has pointed out that the chief minister, in his September 28 letter to him, had not cited any concrete reason for delaying the expansion of his cabinet.

The governor’s letter comes two days after Opposition parties, including the Congress and JVM, sought dismissal of the Arjun Munda government, maintaining that the cabinet was illegal as it was way short of the mandated 12 ministers.

Munda, who met the governor at Raj Bhavan a day after the Opposition met him apparently to explain the reasons behind the delay in cabinet expansion, faced a similar situation in 2004 when then governor Ved Marwah had almost made up his mind to dismiss his government for not maintaining the minimum number of 12 ministers.

Munda was forced to induct Satyanand Bhokta in his ministry on 25 August, 2004, after Raj Bhavan’s warning.

Today, when contacted, the chief minister said he had received the governor’s letter telling him to expand his cabinet. “I have already conveyed to the governor that I will expand my cabinet on October 8. So, there is no question on going back on my word,” he maintained.

“In fact, I would have expanded the cabinet before October 8 had it not been the inauspicious phase of pitri paksha till October 7,” he iterated. “The delay is not deliberate. I have been advised not to take any important decision during the period.”

Constitutional experts maintained that although the Constitution had prescribed the cabinet strength limit, it did not mention any timeline or deadline under which the chief minister had to complete its formation.