Supreme Court having kept the critical case of the disqualification of the nine rebel Congress MlAs hanging in the balance till July 12 while barring them from participating in May 10 trust vote, it seems to be win-win for the former Chief Minister Harish Rawat. It is now clear beyond any shadow of doubt that the Congress led by Harish Rawat would win the trust vote, given the strength of the two rival camps in the present House of truncated strength. Moreover, as per the Constitutional provision, none of the nine rebels can be chosen as the Chief Minister or minister in case Harish Rawat fails to win the confidence vote and the BJP chances to form the next government subsequently. The Constitution is clear on the point that any person can be appointed as Chief Minister or minster even if he is not a member of the House. But he would have to be elected in the House within six months since such appointment. But in case of the MlAs disqualified, the provision would not apply. Though the case is now pending before the Supreme Court its message is loud and clear that the nine rebels would be treated as good as disqualified for the present. Moreover, once disqualified, they would remain so for the remainder of the term of the Vidhan Sabha they have been elected from as per Article 191 of the Constitution. Harish Rawat has thus reasons to enjoy the predicament of the rebels who, the Congress leaders say, have been served right for their act of back- stabbing the party that nurtured them for a long while, observers say.
As things stand now, the Assembly would be out of bounds for the nine MlAs- Vijay Bahuguna, Harak Singh Rawat, Subodh Uniyal, Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion, Pradeep Batra, Dr Shaila Rani Rawat, Amrita Rawat, Dr Shailendra Mohan Singhal and Umesh Sharma Kau-unless and until the Supreme Court gives them any relief from their predicament.
As per the Article 191(2), a person is disqualified as an MlA or an MlC of a State under the 10th Schedule he stands disqualified for the rest of the Assembly’s term. This means that the nine rebels would go on, tagged as disqualified, for the remainder of the Assembly’s term that would end in March 2017. They would have to wallow in the bogs of irrelevance as they stand no chance to be elected Chief Minister or a minister in case BJP chances to form a government upon winning Tuesday’s confidence vote and then chooses to invite them to join the government by way of showing gratitude to them. “It is loss-loss for them. They seem to have lost both ways. They have been relegated to the background sans any strength to assert. Besides, they would have to see their foe Harish Rawat getting crowned with chief ministership helplessly from outside the fence. However, if Harish Rawat loses the confidence vote they would have the satisfaction to maliciously gloat over his misfortune and that’s all,” said a political analyst.
However, the possibility of Apex Court giving a favourable judgment seems remote, given the serious reservation it has expressed over the issue of the defection. The judiciary seems to be of the view that if the defection is indulged in the least it would embolden more to switch sides according to their convenience, something that augurs ill for a functioning democracy.
The conundrum haunting the State for too long a time, the constitutional experts are of the view that the Supreme Court is eager to end the logjam at the earliest through the floor test. “later, it might hand over the case to a Constitutional Bench to pronounce the final judgment on the tricky issue of the Speaker disqualifying the nine MlAs under anti-defection law, an action that is proving to be the trickiest thing that has befallen Uttarakhand during the recent spell of high drama,” one of the constitutional specialists said.