The Union Government has submitted its reply to the Uttarakhand High Court on the petition filed on behalf of former Chief Minister Harish Rawat against imposition of the President’s Rule in Uttarakhand. This comes a day before the counter-affidavit to be submitted in the High Court on behalf of the former Chief Minister on Tuesday. Hearing in the case is slated to be held on April 6.
On Monday, Ministry of Home Affairs director Satendra Kumar Bhalla submitted an affidavit in the division bench of Uttarakhand High Court. He stated that all documents related to reasons for imposition of president’s rule in Uttarakhand have been presented to the High Court in a sealed cover. The documents submitted by the Centre in its reply are confidential. The reply filed by the Central Government has termed former CM Harish Rawat’s petition a baseless attempt contrary to facts in order to misinform the High Court.
The reply also states that on March 18, the leader of opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, Ajay Bhatt had sent a fax to the Vidhan Sabha secretariat stating the demand for division of vote in the Assembly, in addition to which 27 MlAs headed by Bhatt had also met Governor the same evening. The reply also states Speaker did not discharge his responsibility in an impartial manner.