New Delhi: BJP today appeared critical of the Supreme Court verdict on Arunachal Pradesh, saying it is a “very strange order” that the leader with the majority support is being asked to sit in the opposition and also wondered if the verdict “weakens” the democratic spirit.

Asserting that numerical strength was very important in democracy, it said the current Chief Minister Kalikho Pul has the number to run the government and not his predecessor Nabam Tuki, whose government has been revived by the judgement.

“Much water has flowed down in the last seven months. The order certainly raises a question as to whether it strengthens the democratic spirit or weakens it. This is a question as it appears from the verdict that the one having the majority is being asked to sit in the opposition and the one who has lost it is being asked to run the government.

“This is a very strange order and that is why it is being studied. The person who has the majority, who is running the government presently is being asked to be in the opposition,” party national secretary Shrikant Sharma told a press conference.

Sharma, though, insisted that he was not commenting on the verdict and the party will study it before making a response.

The numbers in the Arunachal Pradesh assembly, he said, were with Pul and not Tuki.

“In democracy, the one with the numbers runs the government. And the numbers are with the current chief minister not Tuki,” he said.

The Supreme Court today ordered restoration of the Congress government in the state by quashing all the Governor’s decisions that had precipitated its fall in January, holding them “violative” of the Constitution.

Sharma said the change in government in the state was necessitate by the Congress’ internal fight as 18 MLAs had revolted against Tuki due to corruption and lack of trust in the party’s leadership.

“Congress wanted to run the government by corruption and strong arm tactics even though it had lost majority. Its government was reduced to minority after a faction within the party rebelled. We only supported the faction’s bid for power from the outside. Congress should not blame us for its internal problems,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress Vice President, the BJP national secretary said, “Rahul Gandhi is talking about democracy but he should know that past Congress governments have made a century of the use of Article 356 (of the Constitution) to dismiss state governments.”

Rejecting the contention that the verdict was a setback to the central government, Sharma claimed that the Centre was not a party in the case which was between two groups of Congress MLAs.

“The matter was between the group headed by Tuki and the rebel Congress group. The central government was not a party to it. The decision cannot be seen as a setback to it,” he said.

Meanwhile Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul said that there was no threat to his government as the required numbers are with him and it will be decided on the floor of the Assembly.

Pul, who had led the Congress rebels then, said, “(Our) government will remain. That will be decided on the floor of the Assembly. Government runs only with the numbers.

There is no threat to our government,” he told reporters.

He also said that a review petition will be filed in the Supreme Court seeking reconsideration of it verdict.

Centre acted only on advice of Arunachal Governor: Rijiju

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today said the Centre had acted only on the suggestion of state Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa in the Arunachal Pradesh affair and the Supreme Court verdict was not against it.

“It is not our case. It will be total misjudgment if somebody says that it is a judgement against the central government. The central government acted on the basis of the report of the Governor,” Rijiju said on the sidelines of the North-East Democratic Alliance’s conclave here.

“Whatever is the political issue, it is within the Congress party and it is in the state Legislative Assembly. We are not part of the whole problem,” he said.

The Minister asserted that the Supreme Court verdict was not against the Centre.

Rijiju said the central government would respect and honour the apex court verdict on Arunachal Pradesh.

“It’s a Supreme Court judgement. When the matter is in the court, we have to respect it. There is no reason to defy or to criticise the ruling of the honourable Supreme Court…

The judgement of the honourable court is always binding and final … We are law-abiding citizen of the country and we will honour the Supreme Court judgement,” he said.

Rijiju says the majority of any government has to be proved on the floor of the House and it will decide the fate of the state government.

“Regarding the issue of the strength of the Assembly, these are the internal matters of the Congress party and the strength has to be proved on the floor of the House. There is no point for anybody to speak about strength outside the Assembly. The floor of the Assembly is the proper platform to test the strength of any political group or party,” he said.

Arunachal verdict: Centre may seek clarification from SC

With a majority government already in place in Arunachal Pradesh, the Centre may seek clarification from the Supreme Court on its verdict restoring status quo ante as on December 15, 2015 in the state assembly.

Sources said the Centre may seek clarification from the apex court on the fate of the Kalikho Pul government which had come to power after proving majority on the floor of the House as per the established legislative procedure.

The government may also ask whether former chief minister Nabam Tuki will have to prove majority on the floor of the House or Kalikho Pul.

Pul, meanwhile, said he will file a review petition in the Supreme Court on its judgement ordering restoration of the previous Congress government.

“Definitely, I will file a review petition. Let me first go through the detail judgement and then consult legal experts,” he said.

One way of seeking clarification is by filing a miscellaneous application. A Presidential Reference dealing with larger constitutional issues is another way of seeking clarification. But Presidential References are a long drawn affair.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi discussed the judgement and its ramifications threadbare at a meeting here this evening.

PTI