India’s government dismissed the elected state government of Nagaland, after a no confidence vote was voted, triggering political uncertainty.

Below is an excerpt of an article published by Reuters:

[…]

The decision by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's cabinet would bring Nagaland under federal rule, weeks before the state is due to elect a new legislative assembly.

The state poll is expected to go ahead as planned.

"The union cabinet has decided to impose president's rule in Nagaland because of the prevailing political uncertainty," a senior home ministry official told Reuters by phone from New Delhi. "The state assembly has been dissolved."

The decision came after Nagaland's coalition government, backed by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), managed to stay in office even though it lost a no-confidence vote moved by the opposition last month [December 2007].

The coalition survived after a controversial decision by the assembly speaker not to consider seven votes cast against the government by disgruntled ruling party legislators.

Nagaland's dismissed Chief Minister Neiphu Rio said the move to impose federal rule was "not only illegal and unconstitutional, but also murder of democracy".