Reacting to the high drama that unfolded in the State Assembly on Friday with nine rebel Congress MlAs, including Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat, deserting the Congress and flying to Delhi to stay with the BJP MlAs, Chief Minister Harish Rawat dared the BJP on Saturday to move a no-confidence motion against his Government. "We have majority in the House," he asserted. "Things would be clear once the BJP moves the motion," he said, adding that five of the nine dissidents aside from some BJP MlAs were in touch with him. "They are regretting for what happened on Friday," he said.
Asked whether a special session would be convened to help the Government prove its majority on the floor of the House, CM answered in the negative. "The Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal has adjourned the House till March 28," he said.
He further said they had appealed to the Governor to oust Harak Singh Rawat from the Cabinet with immediate effect. "We would meet the Governor soon to apprise him of what happened in the House on Friday evening," CM said.
Exuding confidence that his Government would survive the crisis, he said he had no plan to rush to Delhi. "We have lots of work to do right here. As the ongoing financial year would end in next 10 days we must finish the Budgetary proceedings by then," he said.
lashing out at the BJP, the CM said the party was engaged in destabilising his Government by taking recourse to unfair means. Besides, they were confused, he said. "If they are confident of their majority they should face the House. This is what democracy warrants. If they prove that we have lost majority we would quit with regret that many of our developmental works remain unfinished. We would then specially feel for the Statehood activists in whose interests we have done a lot in the Budget. We have striven hard to alleviate the woes of many segments of the population like Dalits, women, youth and Government employees," he said. "BJP is hell-bent on pulling the Government down as they know how pro-people the Budget is," he added.
Asked about Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat, the CM said he had neither tendered his resignation nor had he surrendered his official vehicle so far. "Instead of surrendering protocol showered on him, he keeps clinging to it. Besides, he has presented two proposals in the House aside from announcing myriad schemes concerning his department. Things were all right. Suddenly, he morphed into a rebel and started shouting slogans against the Congress Government he is part of. We are convinced he fell prey to the carrot BJP dangled for him," he said, adding that RSS top brass had precipitated things.
He averred that there was no internal dissension within the party or the Government. "Money and muscle power were unleashed to oust my Government. The Centre has been misusing power to destabilise democratically elected Governments," he alleged.