Show-cause notice to 2 Cong MLAs in Manipur for cross-voting in RS polls

A month after Rajya Sabha election for the lone seat in Manipur, the state unit of the  Congress party has issued a show-cause notice to two of its legislators who had allegedly cross voted for BJP candidate Leishemba Sanajaoba, Indian Express reported.

The report said the general secretary of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee had issued the notice to legislators RK Imo Singh and Okram Henry, who represent Sagolband and Wangkhei constituencies respectively. While Singh is the son-in-law of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, Henry is the nephew of former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

“You have deliberately breached and acted against the decision of the Indian National Congress (INC) by indulging in cross-voting in favour of the BJP candidate in the recent Rajya Sabha election… this has not only violated the decision of our party to support our candidate but is also detrimental in maintaining the party principle,” the notice said.

“Your frequent physical identification with the BJP Chief Minister of the state, which was often exhibited in the print and electronic media, amount to giving up the membership of the INC,” it said. The Congress has also asked the legislators to respond to the show-cause notice within two weeks or face disciplinary action, the report added.

On June 19, Sanajaoba won the election to the lone seat, defeating the Congress nominee in a high-voltage political drama amid the changing electoral equations in the state. Sanajaoba, who is the titular king of Manipur, received 28 votes, while Congress candidate T Mangi Babu got 24 votes.