Manipur legislator Thounaojam Shyamkumar has officially intimated Assembly Speaker Yumnam Khemchand of his “willingness” to resign from the membership of the House.
The Supreme Court on March 18 had banned the Minister and BJP MLA – against whom multiple disqualification petitions were pending – from entering the Assembly. The court also ruled that he would cease to be a Minister immediately. The Speaker’s tribunal had also heard the case and reserved the verdict till March 28.
A brief letter of Mr. Shyamkumar, which was submitted on Thursday, does not furnish any reasons.
Congress members K. Meghachandra and Fazur Rahman had filed a petition to the Speaker praying for the disqualification of Mr. Shyamkumar, arguing that he had violated the provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
Mr. Shyamkumar was elected in the 2017 Assembly election on a Congress ticket. However, he joined the BJP even before he was sworn in as a member of the Assembly. He was made a Cabinet Minister.
The fate of seven other Congress MLAs who had also joined the ruling BJP is still awaited. Former Chief Minister and now Congress Legislature Party leader Okram Ibobi exuded confidence that the seven legislators would vote for the Congress candidate in the upcoming election for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the State.
