Z Lohe
The Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) is the highest decision making authority under the Parliamentary system of government. All the laws of the State are enacted on the floor of the House by NLA. Whereas, in governance (in enforcement of the laws), the Nagaland State Cabinet is the highest decision making authority. The State Cabinet is therefore sacred and it has its own established decorum.
The Chief Minister is the Chairman of the meetings of the Cabinet. In the event of his absence from any scheduled Cabinet meeting, he officially authorizes one of the senior Cabinet members to chair such meeting.
The Chief Secretary of Nagaland State is the Cabinet Secretary by designation. The Chief Secretary therefore attends all the Cabinet meetings and records every decision of the Cabinet except when the Cabinet members meet exclusively in camera on a given matter and to which the Chief Secretary is not called.
The State of Nagaland is entitled to have just 12 Cabinet Ministers including the Chief Minister against the total 60 MLAs under the downsizing rule. Yet, for the sheer purpose of ensuring political stability in the State, Nagaland used to have Advisors with Deputy Minister rank and manning the allotted Departments. These arrangements are done by flouting the spirit of the downsizing law which prevents such beyond the specified Cabinet berths.
According to parliamentary practice, no Advisor, no MLA or no bureaucrat is entitled to enter the room where the Cabinet meeting is on. An Advisor, an MLA or a bureaucrat can participate in the meeting of the Cabinet only on call. In other words, when a Departmental subject being manned by any of the mentioned authorities is to be discussed by the Cabinet whereby the know-how of the Departmental representative becomes a requisite, only then the concerned authority is asked to apprise the Cabinet on the given matter within the stipulated time of discussion and leave.
Well, about the existing Cabinet, it is reportedly known that several of the Cabinet Ministers are found to be too lazy to read the circulated Cabinet Memos. When one does not read the Cabinet Memos, one cannot know what is happening to Nagaland now and will happen to people of Nagaland in future. Under such circumstance, those members have nothing to contribute to the transaction of the business during the Cabinet meetings except sitting like owl as mute spectators. It is also reportedly known that some of those irresponsible Cabinet members used to play with their Cell phones like Mobile phone addicted child while the State Cabinet is on serious discussion for the welfare of the State. Such drought of the sense of responsibility of the Cabinet members with no sense of accountability to the public cannot be expected to deliver anything good to Nagaland. When several of the Cabinet members do not care for the wellbeing of the people, what rational decisions can evolve out of those namesake Cabinet meetings. Such attitude of the Cabinet members leads to autocratic rule. What a tragedy!
It is also found that due to lack of experience of the existing Cabinet Ministers on Rule of Executive Business and Parliamentary practices adding to their lackadaisical attitude, the decorum of the Cabinet is being defiled. It is reportedly known that non-Cabinet member of whoever is not entitled to attend the meeting used to participate in most of the Cabinet meetings. If so, such is not permissible. Such practice defiles the sacredness and degrades the very status of the State Cabinet. Such violation of the decorum is a mockery of the standing Cabinet ethics and its decorum. If what I heard is true, it is for the first time in the history of Nagaland Statehood, the State Cabinet is desecrated and degraded. Creating bad precedents is condemnable.
Preserve the established systems for the posterity. Rule Nagaland if one is able to, and yet do not extirpate the established systems, please.
