National
Meghalaya HC strikes down Parliamentary Secretaries Act, incumbents resign (Lead)
Shillong, Nov 10 (IANS) The Meghalaya High Court on Thursday held invalid the state law providing for appointment of parliamentary secretaries in the state, but left it to the Governor to determine the disqualification of the post-holders from the assembly.
The verdict by a division bench of Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Ved Prakash Vaish came on a PIL filed by state resident Madal Sumer, challenging the “extra constitutional and illegal” appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries in the state.
“The Meghalaya Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2005 is held invalid for want of legislative competence of the state Legislature and is, therefore, struck down.
“As a necessary corollary, the notifications appointing the Parliamentary Secretaries and other follow-up actions are declared void, for having been issued and carried out under an invalid enactment,” it said, adding that the challenge to the validity of the 2005 Act has to succeed in view of the law declared by the Supreme Court in Bimolangshu Roy’s case.
Hours after the verdict, 17 Parliamentary Secretaries quit their post.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, who accepted their resignation, defended their appointment and the law.
“This law has been enacted based on this mandate of the provisions of the Constitution by which we can prevent the members of the august house from getting disqualified from holding an office of profit wherein law says such office will be deemed as not as office of profit,” Sangma told journalists.
On July 26, the Supreme Court had declared as unconstitutional a law enacted by Assam in 2004 that allowed the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries in the rank of Minister of State.
An apex court bench of Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice R.K. Agrawal and Justice A.M. Sapre struck down the Assam Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2004, noting that Article 194 of the Constitution “does not expressly authorise the state legislature to create offices such as the one in question”.
Citing the SC verdict, the High Court said: “This declaration of law by the Supreme Court, on want of legislative competence of the state Legislature, is binding on all the courts and obviously, if the said law is applicable to the present case, it shall have to be applied, irrespective of the pleadings of the parties.”
Leaving it open to the Governor to decide on the Parliamentary Secretaries’ disqualification as assembly members, the bench said: “It is hardly a matter of any doubt that when a question arises as to whether a member of a House of the Legislature of the state has become subject to any of disqualifications mentioned in Article 191(1), the question has to be referred for the decision of Governor; and the decision of the Governor in this regard, on the basis of the opinion of Election Commission, is final.”
“We see no warrant for the proposition that such a reference would be made by this court,” the bench said.
Meanwhile, Sumer said that he would soon submit a representation to Governor Ganga Prasad seeking disqualification of all the legislators named in the PIL citing that as “they are no longer legislators for holding office of profit”.
He said that he would also appeal the Governor to dismiss the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government as it has been “reduced to a minority with the disqualification of those legislators, who were appointed as parliamentary secretaries”.
He also demanded that the government should direct these legislators to return all the salary and perks from the date of their appointment for serving in the unconstitutional office as they stand disqualified from that date onwards.
On March 12, 2013, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma had administered the oath of office to 18 Parliamentary Secretaries to assist 12 ministers after the Congress retained power following the Assembly elections.
However, Independent legislator Lamboklang Mylliem resigned from the post on March 29 last year, citing legal grounds.
Parliamentary Secretaries Celestine Lyngdoh and Comingone Ymbon were subsequently made Cabinet Ministers.
Election to the 60-member assembly are scheduled to be held in February-March 2018.
–IANS
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National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.