Taking strong exception to Harish Rawat convening Cabinet meeting and taking policy decisions soon after the Uttarakhand High Court had set aside the President’s Rule and ordered restoration of the status quo, State BJP chief spokesperson Munna Singh Chouhan has appealed to the Governor on Friday to take steps to stop him from making mockery of the well-defined norms.
The State BJP leader said that Rawat had been behaving like a full-fledged CM sans the authorization required for the matter. According to him, after the President’s Rule was enforced, the President himself or the Governor as his representative could execute the court order after the President’s Rule is formally withdrawn. He further said that the situation presently prevailing in the State amounts to diarchy with two parallel Governments functioning simultaneously-one run by the Governor under the President’s Rule and the other by Harish Rawat as the reinstated CM.
“True that the High Court has allowed his writ petition but it does not mean that he can assume office of the Chief Minister on his own before getting the right authorisation. As Harish Rawat challenged the proclamation of the President’s Rule none other than the President or the Governor as his representative can execute the court order. So far, the High Court has not issued the certified copy of its order. Having no copy at his disposal, we wonder how Harish Rawat can convene cabinet meetings and take policy decisions as the CM. He has unleashed a constitutional crisis on the State,” Chouhan said.
He appealed to the Governor to stop such blatant mockery of the law and the Constitution. “All the decisions taken by Rawat cannot stand the constitutional or legal scrutiny as the President’s Rule is yet to be revoked,” he said.
“Unless and until the Governor issues notification reinstating Harish Rawat as the CM he cannot take the reins of the State as the CM. Even if it were arguably a caretaker government things remain the same. Sans the proper order, Rawat government cannot be reinstated,” he said.
“Besides, unless and until he wins the confidence of the House following the floor test slated on Saturday Rawat is hardly in a position to take policy decisions. If he does so the decisions are unconstitutional and worth nothing,” the BJP leader said.
Chouhan further appealed to the Governor to instruct the chief secretary considered as the cabinet secretary and the district administrations not to comply with the Rawat’s and others’ orders. “If they act on such spurious orders they should be considered parties to the spurious functioning of the ‘Rawat government’,” he said.
Hitting out at the Congress for its unearthly haste to be in power, he said that the officials had dared remove the nameplates of the advisors to the Governor soon after the court issued its order.
“We have heard too that Harish Rawat sought chopper to visit somewhere. However, the Governor stepped in and turned down his request. The same treatment applies to the fleets the CM and his cabinet colleagues are entitled to. Until the mist is cleared they should be stopped from using such cars,” he said.
Commenting on the High Court order, Chouhan said, “ Things are open as the law enables one to move higher court if a ruling is not found satisfactory. The judgment of High Court is liable to be challenged. However, we are convinced that unless the nine rebel Congress MlAs are allowed to vote during theApril 29 floor test things would be reduced to mockery,” the BJP leader said.
He further questioned the wisdom of the High Court bench dragging the President in course of the hearing. “This amounts to an affront to the Constitution itself. Conduct of the President is not open to judicial scrutiny,” Chouhan said.