Embattled Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu will on Wednesday&nbsp;face a floor test at a special session of the state assembly after the Gauhati High Court dismissed his plea to stay the Governor&#39;s directive to him to seek a trust vote.

Governor PB Acharya on Tuesday&nbsp;directed Speaker Imtiwapang to summon an emergent special session of the state assembly at 9.30 am for the chief minister,&nbsp;who is facing a rebellion from his party MLAs, to seek the confidence vote.

Justice LM Jamir, judge of Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court,&nbsp;had dismissed earlier in the day a writ petition filed by Liezietsu, pleading for a stay on the governor&#39;s directive to him to seek a vote of confidence in the assembly by July 15.

The court while stating there was no merit in the petition vacated its interim order staying the directive and left the matter to the discretion of the governor.This court is of the considered opinion that the governor had taken the right decision to ask the petitioner (Liezietsu) to seek a vote of confidence in the floor of the House 
to see which out of the two contesting claimants of chief ministership has a majority in the House,&nbsp;the court observed.

The court maintained that it has no reason&nbsp;to interfere with the governor&#39;s letter to the chief minister.&nbsp;Dismissing the petition, the court said, &quot;The matter is left to the wisdom of the governor to take a decision on the same after proper application of mind.&quot;

The chief minister had filed the petition on July 14 and the court had issued an interim order staying the governor&#39;s directive till yesterday so that the matter could be taken up for hearing.

The Governor had on July 11 and July 13 directed Liezietsu, who is facing rebellion by 43 ruling Naga Peoples Front MLAs led by former chief minister T R Zeliang demanding change of leadership in the present house of 59, to seek vote of confidence on or before July 15.

Zeliang, who was forced out of office in February following large scale protests over holding of urban local bodies election with 33 per cent reservation for women, had staked claim to form the government saying he had majority support in the House. 
 
Meanwhile, four BJP legislators and Nagaland BJP president Visasolie Lhoungu on Tuesday&nbsp;called on the governor and submitted a letter supporting TR Zeliang.

BJP is a pre-poll alliance partner of the Naga People&#39;s Front and a constituent of the Democratic Aalliance of Nagaland (DAN) government in the state. The legislators in their letter to the governor said, &quot;BJP has been a constituent of the DAN and continues to remain a part of the arrangement till date.&quot;

However, they said that in the present political crisis in the state government, the BJP has decided to be with the DAN group led by Zeliang.

The four BJP legislators are Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Paiwang Konyak, Advisor for Treasury and Accounts, Labour and Employment T M Lotha, 
Advisor for Cooperation Imtilemba Sangtam and MLA and Chief Whip of BJP Mmhonlumo Kikon.

 
&nbsp;

The Nagaland chief minister had pleaded for a stay on the governor's directive to seek a vote of confidence in the assembly by July 15

Embattled Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu will on Wednesday face a floor test at a special session of the state assembly after the Gauhati High Court dismissed his plea to stay the Governor's directive to him to seek a trust vote. Governor PB Acharya on Tuesday directed Speaker Imtiwapang to summon an emergent special session of the state assembly at 9.30 am for the chief minister, who is facing a rebellion from his party MLAs, to seek the confidence vote. Justice LM Jamir, judge of Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court, had dismissed earlier in the day a writ petition filed by Liezietsu, pleading for a stay on the governor's directive to him to seek a vote of confidence in the assembly by July 15. The court while stating there was no merit in the petition vacated its interim order staying the directive and left the matter to the discretion of the governor.This court is of the considered opinion that the governor had taken the right decision to ask the petitioner (Liezietsu) to seek a vote of confidence in the floor of the House to see which out of the two contesting claimants of chief ministership has a majority in the House, the court observed. The court maintained that it has no reason to interfere with the governor's letter to the chief minister. Dismissing the petition, the court said, "The matter is left to the wisdom of the governor to take a decision on the same after proper application of mind." The chief minister had filed the petition on July 14 and the court had issued an interim order staying the governor's directive till yesterday so that the matter could be taken up for hearing. The Governor had on July 11 and July 13 directed Liezietsu, who is facing rebellion by 43 ruling Naga Peoples Front MLAs led by former chief minister T R Zeliang demanding change of leadership in the present house of 59, to seek vote of confidence on or before July 15. Zeliang, who was forced out of office in February following large scale protests over holding of urban local bodies election with 33 per cent reservation for women, had staked claim to form the government saying he had majority support in the House. Meanwhile, four BJP legislators and Nagaland BJP president Visasolie Lhoungu on Tuesday called on the governor and submitted a letter supporting TR Zeliang. BJP is a pre-poll alliance partner of the Naga People's Front and a constituent of the Democratic Aalliance of Nagaland (DAN) government in the state. The legislators in their letter to the governor said, "BJP has been a constituent of the DAN and continues to remain a part of the arrangement till date." However, they said that in the present political crisis in the state government, the BJP has decided to be with the DAN group led by Zeliang. The four BJP legislators are Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Paiwang Konyak, Advisor for Treasury and Accounts, Labour and Employment T M Lotha, Advisor for Cooperation Imtilemba Sangtam and MLA and Chief Whip of BJP Mmhonlumo Kikon.

After High Court dismisses plea, Nagaland chief minister Liezietsu to face trust vote today

Nagaland Governor PB Acharya on Thursday asked Chief Minister Dr Shurhozuelie Liezietsu once again to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly positively on or before July 15, a directive the state cabinet had turned down earlier in the day.

In a letter addressed to the chief minister late Thursday (July 14), the governor said that Liezietsu did not deny TR Zeliang&#39;s claims of enjoying&nbsp;the support of 44 of the 59 MLAs in the House.

Acharya said it was not an &quot;internal matter&quot;&nbsp;of the ruling Naga People&#39;s Front (NPF) as claimed by the chief minister,&nbsp;but about whether he enjoyed&nbsp;the support of the majority of the House or not.

He also said that from the material&nbsp;available to him, it prima facie appeared&nbsp;that the chief minister&nbsp;had&nbsp;lost support of the majority of the Assembly and therefore, again requested him to call an emergency session of the assembly to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

While turning down the governor&#39;s directive earlier in the day, the state cabinet said the by-poll to Northern Angami-I seat has already been notified and the model code of conduct is in force. The chief minister has also filed his nomination papers.

The cabinet said, &quot;It would not be legally proper for the cabinet to advise, and for the Governor to summon the assembly during this election period.&quot;

The Governor replied that as far as the by-election was concerned, it was for only one constituency and so it should not come in the way of recommending summoning of a special session of the assembly.&nbsp;

Liezietsu revokes Zeliang&#39;s suspension

After turning down Governor PB Acharya&#39;s directive to seek trust vote by July 15, Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu on Thursday night revoked the suspension of TR Zeliang, who has staked claim to form government, and 10 others.

Former chief minister Zeliang, however, said he has not received any official communication about the revoking of suspension and his demand for forming the government stays.

Zeliang, claiming the support of 41 of 59 MLAs in the assembly, wrote to the Governor on July 8 for an invitation to form the new NPF-led DAN government.

Liezietsu then dismissed four ministers and 11 parliamentary secretaries and suspended them all besides Zeliang from the party. Of the parliamentary secretaries, five belonged to the NPF. 
 
An NPF release tonight announced revoking of the suspension order of Zeliang, four ministers and five parliamentary secretaries who were all party members. 
 
Besides, NPF withdrew suspension of three-time chief minister and lone Lok Sabha MP from Nagaland Neiphiu Rio, who was suspended for anti-party activities on May 17 last year. 
 
&quot;The decision to withdraw suspension of the 11 NPF legislators was taken as part of a resolution adopted during a consultative meeting of the NPF Legislature Party along with NPF Central Party leaders held this evening at the chief minister&#39;s residential office,&quot; the NPF release said.

It said the decision was taken for the sake of &quot;true reconciliation and better understanding&quot; to resolve NPF&#39;s &quot;internal crisis&quot; and for the sake of the larger interest of the Nagas.

Waiting for Governor to return to Kohima: Zeliang 
 
Zeliang, however, said, &quot;I have the support of 36 NPF MLAs and seven Independent MLAs. We are firm on our claim to establish a new NPF government in the state.&quot; 
 
He said they were waiting for the Governor to return to Kohima and &quot;call us to form the government or let the Chief Minister face the floor test.&quot; 
 
&quot;We will return if the floor test is held by July 15. Otherwise we will wait,&quot; he told PTI over phone from Assam where he is camping with his supporters. 
 
Rajbhavan sources said, Acharya is out of station and is scheduled to return to Kohima tomorrow. 
 
&quot;We have not received any official communication about withdrawal of suspension but came to know of it from friends in Kohima. We will decide (about it) only after receiving the official communication,&quot; Zeliang added. 
 
Asked whether his group would merge with BJP, he said &quot;We have not taken any decision on that line. Since we are NPF MLAs, we will remain in NPF.&quot;

Earlier, a cabinet meeting headed by the chief minister discussed the governor&#39;s directive to face trust vote by July 15 and decided against calling any emergency session of the assembly for the purpose. 
 
&quot;The state cabinet was of the firm opinion that there was no justification for an emergency session of the assembly to discuss or resolve the internal affairs of the ruling Naga People&#39;s Front (NPF),&quot; stated a joint statement issued by Chief Minister Liezietsu and Chief Secretary Panjak Kumar. 
 
The statement quoted a Supreme Court ruling saying that &quot;the governor can summon or prorogue and dissolve the House, only on the aid and advice of the council of ministers with the chief minister as its head, and not on his own.&quot; 
 
The present strength of the 60-member Nagaland assembly is 59 as the Northern Angami I seat is vacant now. The bypoll for the seat will be held on July 29. 
In the assembly, the NPF has 47 members, the BJP four and independents eight. There is no opposition.&nbsp;

The governor said Liezietsu did not deny the TR Zeliang's claims of enjoying?the support of 44 MLAs in a house of 59

Nagaland Governor PB Acharya on Thursday asked Chief Minister Dr Shurhozuelie Liezietsu once again to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly positively on or before July 15, a directive the state cabinet had turned down earlier in the day. In a letter addressed to the chief minister late Thursday (July 14), the governor said that Liezietsu did not deny TR Zeliang's claims of enjoying the support of 44 of the 59 MLAs in the House. Acharya said it was not an "internal matter" of the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF) as claimed by the chief minister, but about whether he enjoyed the support of the majority of the House or not. He also said that from the material available to him, it prima facie appeared that the chief minister had lost support of the majority of the Assembly and therefore, again requested him to call an emergency session of the assembly to prove his majority on the floor of the House. While turning down the governor's directive earlier in the day, the state cabinet said the by-poll to Northern Angami-I seat has already been notified and the model code of conduct is in force. The chief minister has also filed his nomination papers. The cabinet said, "It would not be legally proper for the cabinet to advise, and for the Governor to summon the assembly during this election period." The Governor replied that as far as the by-election was concerned, it was for only one constituency and so it should not come in the way of recommending summoning of a special session of the assembly. Liezietsu revokes Zeliang's suspension After turning down Governor PB Acharya's directive to seek trust vote by July 15, Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu on Thursday night revoked the suspension of TR Zeliang, who has staked claim to form government, and 10 others. Former chief minister Zeliang, however, said he has not received any official communication about the revoking of suspension and his demand for forming the government stays. Zeliang, claiming the support of 41 of 59 MLAs in the assembly, wrote to the Governor on July 8 for an invitation to form the new NPF-led DAN government. Liezietsu then dismissed four ministers and 11 parliamentary secretaries and suspended them all besides Zeliang from the party. Of the parliamentary secretaries, five belonged to the NPF. An NPF release tonight announced revoking of the suspension order of Zeliang, four ministers and five parliamentary secretaries who were all party members. Besides, NPF withdrew suspension of three-time chief minister and lone Lok Sabha MP from Nagaland Neiphiu Rio, who was suspended for anti-party activities on May 17 last year. "The decision to withdraw suspension of the 11 NPF legislators was taken as part of a resolution adopted during a consultative meeting of the NPF Legislature Party along with NPF Central Party leaders held this evening at the chief minister's residential office," the NPF release said. It said the decision was taken for the sake of "true reconciliation and better understanding" to resolve NPF's "internal crisis" and for the sake of the larger interest of the Nagas. Waiting for Governor to return to Kohima: Zeliang Zeliang, however, said, "I have the support of 36 NPF MLAs and seven Independent MLAs. We are firm on our claim to establish a new NPF government in the state." He said they were waiting for the Governor to return to Kohima and "call us to form the government or let the Chief Minister face the floor test." "We will return if the floor test is held by July 15. Otherwise we will wait," he told PTI over phone from Assam where he is camping with his supporters. Rajbhavan sources said, Acharya is out of station and is scheduled to return to Kohima tomorrow. "We have not received any official communication about withdrawal of suspension but came to know of it from friends in Kohima. We will decide (about it) only after receiving the official communication," Zeliang added. Asked whether his group would merge with BJP, he said "We have not taken any decision on that line. Since we are NPF MLAs, we will remain in NPF." Earlier, a cabinet meeting headed by the chief minister discussed the governor's directive to face trust vote by July 15 and decided against calling any emergency session of the assembly for the purpose. "The state cabinet was of the firm opinion that there was no justification for an emergency session of the assembly to discuss or resolve the internal affairs of the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF)," stated a joint statement issued by Chief Minister Liezietsu and Chief Secretary Panjak Kumar. The statement quoted a Supreme Court ruling saying that "the governor can summon or prorogue and dissolve the House, only on the aid and advice of the council of ministers with the chief minister as its head, and not on his own." The present strength of the 60-member Nagaland assembly is 59 as the Northern Angami I seat is vacant now. The bypoll for the seat will be held on July 29. In the assembly, the NPF has 47 members, the BJP four and independents eight. There is no opposition.

Nagaland Governor again directs chief minister to prove majority

Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang announced he is stepping down from office in the wake of the row over the representation for women in the urban local bodies in the state.

A statement from the Chief Minister&#39;s Office confirmed Zeliang was stepping down and a consensus leader will be chosen tomorrow morning at Naga People&#39;s Front (NPF) Legislature Party meeting, PTI reported.

A NPF source claimed that&nbsp;Neiphiu Rio, former chief minister and sole MP from the state, commanded the support of 49 MLAs in&nbsp;the 60-member Assembly. He said the 49 legislators included including eight&nbsp;Independents, while at least 3 including Speaker Chotisuh Sazo, are with party President Dr Shurhozelie Liezitsu. 
 
The BJP has four MLAs in the state. 
 
NPF sources said both Rio and Zeliang met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi yesterday but they refused to divulge details. 
 
Nagaland has been on the boil ever since elections to urban local bodies in 12 towns across the state were conducted on February 1. 
 
Nagaland tribal bodies had protested after the ULB elections with 33 per cent reservation for women were announced. 
 
Following the protests and the outbreak of violence in the state, the&nbsp;entire process of elections was declared null and void by Nagaland Governor P B Acharya on February 9.

The second demand of suspending the personnel involved in January 31 police firing on the protesters leading to the killing of two youths in Dimapur has been partially fulfilled as they have been transferred.

Zeliang had left for Delhi on February 16 after seeking two days&#39; time to step down from the chief ministerial post.&nbsp; 
 
The NPF legislators, holed up in a resort in Assam&#39;s Kaziranga, had started leaving Kohima Friday night as Liezietsu was preparing to stake claim to replace Zeliang soon after the arrival of Governor P B Acharya from New Delhi. 
 
(WION with inputs from ANI)

Nagaland has been on the boil ever since elections to urban local bodies across the state were conducted on February 1

Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang announced he is stepping down from office in the wake of the row over the representation for women in the urban local bodies in the state. A statement from the Chief Minister's Office confirmed Zeliang was stepping down and a consensus leader will be chosen tomorrow morning at Naga People's Front (NPF) Legislature Party meeting, PTI reported. A NPF source claimed that Neiphiu Rio, former chief minister and sole MP from the state, commanded the support of 49 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly. He said the 49 legislators included including eight Independents, while at least 3 including Speaker Chotisuh Sazo, are with party President Dr Shurhozelie Liezitsu. The BJP has four MLAs in the state. NPF sources said both Rio and Zeliang met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi yesterday but they refused to divulge details. Nagaland has been on the boil ever since elections to urban local bodies in 12 towns across the state were conducted on February 1. Nagaland tribal bodies had protested after the ULB elections with 33 per cent reservation for women were announced. Following the protests and the outbreak of violence in the state, the entire process of elections was declared null and void by Nagaland Governor P B Acharya on February 9. The second demand of suspending the personnel involved in January 31 police firing on the protesters leading to the killing of two youths in Dimapur has been partially fulfilled as they have been transferred. Zeliang had left for Delhi on February 16 after seeking two days' time to step down from the chief ministerial post. The NPF legislators, holed up in a resort in Assam's Kaziranga, had started leaving Kohima Friday night as Liezietsu was preparing to stake claim to replace Zeliang soon after the arrival of Governor P B Acharya from New Delhi. (WION with inputs from ANI)

Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang steps down after election row

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After High Court dismisses plea, Nagaland chief minister Liezietsu to face trust vote today

Nagaland Governor again directs chief minister to prove majority

Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang steps down after election row