Technical Glitch Forces Chief Minister Naib Saini to Face Trust Vote Again in Haryana Assembly

Technical Glitch Forces Chief Minister Naib Saini to Face Trust Vote Again in Haryana Assembly

In a surprising turn of events, Chief Minister Naib Saini of Haryana may be required to present the trust vote again due to a procedural oversight. The issue emerged after Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate and parliamentary affairs expert Hemant Kumar wrote to the state Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and Assembly Speaker Gyan Chand Gupta, highlighting that Naib Saini, who became the Chief Minister on March 12, 2024, was not officially a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly (MLA) on March 13, 2024, when he presented the motion of confidence as the leader of the House. This has raised a significant technical and constitutional question about the validity of the confidence motion passed on that date. According to Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Haryana Legislative Assembly, the Leader of the House must be the Chief Minister if he is a member of the House, or a Minister who is a member of the House and has been nominated by the Chief Minister. Since Naib Saini was not an MLA at that time, his position as the Leader of the House was technically invalid when he presented the motion. This procedural anomaly was pointed out by Hemant Kumar in his communication to the Governor and the Speaker, emphasizing that the official records of the Assembly session on March 13, 2024, list Naib Saini as the Leader of the House despite him not being an MLA. This discrepancy could necessitate a re-presentation of the trust vote. The situation is further complicated by the recent political instability in Haryana, where the BJP government led by Naib Saini has been in a precarious position. The government’s majority in the House has been in question due to the resignation of two MLAs, withdrawal of support by three MLAs, and the death of one MLA in the past couple of months. The main opposition party, the Congress, has twice submitted a memorandum to the Governor demanding the immediate dismissal of the state government. The potential requirement for Naib Saini to present the trust vote again adds another layer of complexity to the political landscape. Naib Saini was elected as an MLA in a by-election for the Karnal assembly seat on June 4, 2024, and took the oath of office on June 6, 2024. Thus, he officially became the Leader of the House from that date. However, on March 13, 2024, when the special session of the Haryana Legislative Assembly took place, Naib Saini did not nominate any of his five Cabinet Ministers, all of whom were eligible MLAs, to act as the Leader of the House. This oversight has now come under scrutiny, raising questions about the procedural correctness of the confidence motion presented and approved on that day. If the confidence motion is deemed procedurally invalid, it could have significant repercussions for the Naib Saini-led government. The requirement to present the trust vote again would test the government’s majority and could potentially alter the political dynamics in the Haryana Assembly. This situation underscores the importance of adhering to procedural rules in legislative processes and the potential consequences of oversights in parliamentary conduct. The unfolding events will be closely watched as they could set a precedent for handling similar procedural issues in the future.

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