'All Is Fair In Love And War', Court Tells Centre On Uttarakhand

Dehrdaun: In the hill town of Nainital, where top lawyers are arguing over the imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand, the state's High Court today told Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi that "All is fair in love and war."

Chief Justice KM Joseph, who heads a two-judge bench hearing the case, smiled as he made that observation after the Attorney General wrapped up his arguments by contending that, "Harish Rawat cannot get another chance to manoeuvre his position."

Mr Rohatgi is representing the Centre in a pitched court battle against the Congress, which has challenged the dismissal of its Harish Rawat government in the state last month.

The Centre imposed Presidents Rule in Uttarakhand on March 27, removing Chief Minister Harish Rawat's government less than 24 hours before a crucial trust vote that would determine whether Mr Rawat had majority support in the assembly.
 The Congress says that Mr Rawat must be allowed to prove his majority on the floor of the House. The Centre argues that Mr Rawat's government was shown to be in a minority when it failed to get the state budget passed in the assembly on March 18, when nine rebel lawmakers of the ruling Congress joined the opposition in voting against it.

As he finished arguing why the Centre was justified in bringing Uttarakhand under President's Rule, Mr Rohatgi handed over a pen drive on which is stored a sting operation that allegedly shows Mr Rawat making an attempt at horse-trading.

The court, which had on Monday questioned the hurry to impose Central rule just a day before the trust vote, today also said, "When a voter votes he doesn't vote only for a party. He also votes for the individual. The Centre has to respect the voters decision."

To which Mr Rohatgi said that the case was not about the Rawat government's work but about the events of March 18, when, he said, 35 lawmakers in the 70-member Assembly voted against the chief minister.