Aizawl: Mizoram governor Gen Vijay Kumar Singh on Friday appointed former minister and current member of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) Nirupam Chakma as chief executive member (CEM) of the Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC), opening the way for the Chakma Democratic Alliance (CDA) Legislature Party to form the next executive committee after a year under Governor’s Rule.The CDA Legislature Party claims support of 19 members of district council (MDCs) in the 20-member CADC — 10 BJP MDCs and 9 Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) MDCs — and said it staked claim to form the executive committee on June 23. The lone opposition MDC is former CEM and Mizo National Front (MNF) legislator Rasik Mohan Chakma.According to a notification issued by Additional Secretary for District Council & Minority Affairs Joseph Lalrinawma, “the Governor has appointed Nirupam Chakma as the CEM of CADC with effect from Friday,” and directed that the CEM “shall prove his majority on the floor of the district council within seven days from the date of his appointment.”The notification said Governor’s Rule in the CADC will be withdrawn “with effect from the date on which Nirupam Chakma assumes office as the CEM of the council.”Nirupam Chakma told TOI, “ He will take oath as the CEM on Wednesday next (July 8) and will seek the vote of confidence on the next day.” He said he would resign from the NCST after proving his majority, as “he does not want to hold dual charges and to concentrate on serving the people of the CADC.”While BJP and ZPM MDCs in the CDA claim an overwhelming majority, the formation of a new executive committee has been shadowed by an inquiry commission constituted against former executive committees on allegations of corruption and maladministration. Leaders of the CDA Legislature Party on Wednesday paid a courtesy visit to Gen Singh as part of the process of forming a coalition executive committee.Sources familiar with the developments said the formation of a new executive committee has been confirmed and is expected to take shape shortly, but added that certain legal issues linked to the inquiry commission need resolution before the process is completed.Political instability in the CADC has continued since the 2023 elections, with successive defections and five changes of CEM, culminating in Gen Singh suspending the executive committee and imposing Governor’s Rule on July 7 last year for six months. The Governor extended the rule by another six months on Jan 7, set to expire on July 7.In January, the governor said there was still no stability in the CADC due to frequent shifts in political allegiance by elected MDCs and the pending submission of the inquiry commission’s report into corruption and maladministration allegations.
