Uttarakhand witnessed dramatic turns on Sunday with the Centre imposing President’s Rule in the morning and the Speaker disqualifying 9 rebel Congress MLAs hours later.
The Centre cited “breakdown of governance” for its decision, which was slammed by the Congress and other opposition parties as “murder of democracy”. The move came a day before Chief Minister Harish Rawat was to prove his majority in the state Assembly after nine Congress legislators rebelled and voted against the Finance Bill on March 18.
Hours after the President’s rule was imposed in Uttarakhand, nine rebel Congress MLAs, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, were disqualified from the Assembly by Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal under the anti-defection law. The nine MLAs had revolted against their government headed by Harish Rawat in the House on March 18.
At a press conference in Dehradun, Kunjwal said the decision to disqualify the legislators had been taken on the basis of evidence available against them and after detailed hearing held with their lawyers in response to the notices served to them.
In Delhi, at a hurriedly summoned meeting on Saturday night, the Union Cabinet recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee to impose the President’s Rule in the hill state. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had called on Mukherjee after the meeting to brief him about the rationale for the imposition of the rule.
“There was a complete breakdown of the Constitution. The chief minister had lost majority on March 18 and his continuation was unconstitutional and immoral,” Jaitley told reporters in Delhi on Sunday.
The Centre appointed former DG of CRPF, Prakash Mishra, and former Union culture secretary Ravindra Singh as advisers to the Uttarakhand governor.
The Congress hit out at the Modi government, accusing it of “murdering democracy” and “negating Constitution with impunity”.
Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul had asked the chief minister to prove majority by March 28 after the controversial ‘passage’ of the Finance Bill in the state assembly on March 18.
AICC General Secretary Ambika Soni, who is the party in charge of Uttarakhand, said the imposition of President’s Rule was the final act in BJP’s endeavour to seize power in the hill state. “What is the justification for imposition of President’s Rule 24 hours before the floor test to prove majority,” Congress’ chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
Jaitley rejected the Congress accusations. He said the governor had been sending reports of the volatile political situation in Uttarakhand and expressed apprehension over possible pandemonium during the floor test scheduled for Monday.
He dubbed as baseless the Congress’ allegations that the imposition of President’s Rule was unconstitutional.
DH News Service
It is a murder of democracy and the Constitution. Modi's hands are dipped in the blood of the trampled aspirations of the people of Uttarakhand. What has happened is the result of a premeditated conspiracy hatched by the Centre to dislodge a democratically elected government in the state.
Harish Rawat, Uttarakhand CM
There can be no better example of implementation of Article 356...There was complete breakdown of the Constitution in Uttarakhand. There were very good grounds for the Union Cabinet to recommend President's Rule in the state... The Chief Minister had lost majority on 18th (of March) and his continuation was unconstitutional and immoral.
Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister