9 Uttarakhand Congress legislators had rebelled against Chief Minister Harish Rawat (File Photo).
Highlights
- Harish Rawat of Congress wins court case, allowed to take trust vote
- On Thursday, he has to prove he has support of at least 36 legislators
- Uttarakhand was placed under President's Rule just 2 days ago
Harish Rawat will take a trust vote on Thursday to determine if he can resume his term as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, the state's top court has ruled. The High Court's verdict is embarrassing for the Centre, which ordered President's Rule, for Uttarakhand on the weekend.
"Modi has been shown a truly Democratic verdict, he was trying destabilise mandated governments," said Randeep Surjewala, Congress spokesperson. "This is unprecedented...to order something like this during President's Rule," said Nalin Kohli of the BJP.
The Centre has appealed against Tuesday's verdict in the Uttarakhand High Court and the case will be heard on Wednesday.
Till last week, Mr Rawat of the Congress was Chief Minister, entangled by growing dissidence within his party. But earlier this month, nine of his party legislators voted against him on the state's budget. The Centre said this proved that his government had been reduced to a minority. Mr Rawat and his party refuted that allegation, and were
told by Governor KK Paul to take a trust vote on Monday, March 28.
However, before that could happen, President Pranab Mukherjee sanctioned the Cabinet's recommendation for Uttarakhand to be governed by the Centre. Mr Rawat described this as a "murder of democracy" because he was deprived of the opportunity to prove his strength.
Adding to Mr Rawat's challenges, a video aired by a news channel, which said the sting showed the politician attempting to bribe rebel Congressmen to return to the fold. (NDTV cannot verify the authenticity of the video.)
Mr Rawat said the video was doctored and
asked the High Court to give him a chance to prove he still has a majority in the 70-member assembly - he won that case on Tuesday. The nine rebel Congressmen, who had been disqualified from the assembly under anti-defection laws, have been permitted to take part in the vote. That could make it harder for Mr Rawat to prove that he has at least 36 legislators on his side, the minimum needed for him win.
Uttarakhand is one of eight states governed by the Congress (among those are Kerala and Assam where elections have been called). Earlier this year, its government in Arunanchal Pradesh collapsed, again, after a mutiny within its legislators.