Two days after the Harish Rawat Government was sacked and President’s Rule was imposed, the political crisis dogging the State since
March 18 took another turn on Tuesday with the Uttarakhand High Court ordering a floor test in the Assembly on March 31.
The single-judge Bench of Justice UC Dhyani also allowed the nine disqualified Congress MlAs to participate in the voting with a rider. The nine rebel MlAs will vote in sealed envelopes in the presence of an HC-appointed observer on the appointed day. Their votes will be kept separate and will be subject to final outcome of the petition challenging their disqualification on April 1.
However, there was no clarity on whether by ordering the floor test, the President’s Rule imposed on Sunday was stayed and whether the dismissed Harish Rawat Government had been restored. All eyes are on the Congress dissidents, including the one suspended BJP MlA, as the fate of the Rawat Government will depend on their votes and the outcome of their petition challenging their disqualification in HC. Political circles are abuzz with speculation as to whether the Congress would succeed in winning over a few of the rebel MlAs.
Meanwhile, Rawat welcomed the order, saying it was a “tremendous setback” for the Centre which was trying to bring “authoritarianism”. But this order would deter them from trying to destablise non-BJP Governments in other States, he said.
The HC also ordered the DGP to ensure security in the 71-member Assembly when the floor test is carried out.
The Congress, which ruled the State for four years, claims the support of its own 27 MlAs plus six of PDF besides one dissident BJP MlA. Nine other Congress MlAs have turned rebels and joined hands with BJP which has 27 legislators.
Arguing on behalf of the Union Government in the court, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said nullifying presidential promulgation is impermissible.
He said there was enough ground for imposition of President’s rule in the State in view of the failure of the constitutional machinery.
In earlier precedents, the Supreme Court had on two occasions ordered a composite floor test in Uttar Pradesh in 1998 and in Jharkhand in March 2005.
Rawat, whose government was sacked on Sunday on the grounds of “breakdown of Constitutional machinery”, had moved the court on Monday, calling the Centre’s decision as “arbitrary” and demanded its quashing.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for Rawat, had said the court accepted Congress position that despite the President’s Rule, there is enough scope for judicial review to allow a floor test, which was sought by it.
He said Governor KK Paul too had directed holding of the floor test on March 28 and Rawat had also made the same demand twice.
“Now only the date has changed from March 28 to March 31,” Singhvi said.
He said mere allegations of horse-trading cannot justify the imposition of President’s Rule and stop a floor test.
On the question of disqualification of nine rebel Congress MlAs, Singhvi said the court did not set it aside and a final decision on it will come later.
He said both the sides would consider their future legal recourse.
Singhvi said for purpose of counting, the votes of the disqualified MlAs will be kept separate for “identification” and will be subjected to final outcome of the case. “Unless their disqualification is removed, their votes will not be counted as valid votes,” the Congress lawyer said.
The political crisis in the State arose after nine Congress MlAs voted with the BJP against the Appropriation Bill on March 18 which the Speaker declared as passed, ignoring demands for Division.
Following this, Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal issued notices to the nine rebel Congress MlAs under the anti-defection law as to why they should not be disqualified.
Even as there were reports that the rebels were disqualified, on Saturday night the Union Cabinet met and considered the Governor’s report which had spoken about a breakdown in governance and expressed apprehensions of a possible pandemonium in the House during the floor test on March 28.
The Union Cabinet recommended to President Pranab Mukherjee bringing the state under President’s Rule by invoking Article 356 of the Constitution, which he signed on Sunday.