A day after Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee criticised the suspension of five MLAs before the controversial trust vote in Meghalaya, state Assembly Speaker BM Lanong on Tuesday asserted that his decision was “right, just and lawful”.
“Even if what is reported in the media is exactly what Mr Chatterjee said, I am not going to listen to anybody. I have strictly adhered to the law,” Lanong, who had suspended the voting rights of the five rebel MLAs ahead of the floor test, said.
“The Speaker has the right to take action against any member for acts of impropriety or misdemeanour and can even terminate his or her membership by way of expulsion,” Chatterjee was quoted by Lanong as having said on January 3, 2008 during a conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers in London.
Repeatedly mentioning statements and writings of the Lok Sabha Speaker, Lanong said the Speaker was an exponent of the judiciary’s non-interference in legislature.
Alluding to a Supreme Court verdict of 1992, Lanong said the apex court had observed that the interim order can be passed by a Speaker during the pendency of the case.
{{/usCountry}}Alluding to a Supreme Court verdict of 1992, Lanong said the apex court had observed that the interim order can be passed by a Speaker during the pendency of the case.
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