This Article is From Mar 28, 2016

Uttarakhand Crisis: Congress Flaunts Lawmakers Before Governor

Uttarakhand Crisis: Congress Flaunts Lawmakers Before Governor

Harish Rawat was to have undertaken a floor test in the assembly to prove his majority today.

Dehradun: The Congress' Harish Rawat, chief minister of Uttarakhand till yesterday, met the state's Governor today along with 33 lawmakers and handed him letters of support that he says show that he still has a majority to head a government.

Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:

  1. The BJP-led Centre cited a constitutional breakdown while dismissing the state government and imposing President's Rule in Uttarakhand on Sunday, a day before Harish Rawat was to have undertaken a floor test in the assembly to prove his majority.

  2. Also on Sunday, Uttarakhand Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal announced that he had disqualified under the anti-defection law, nine Congress lawmakers who rebelled against Mr Rawat, scripting the current political crisis.

  3. Mr Rawat contends that with their disqualification, the total strength of the 70-member House has been reduced and so, with his 27 remaining lawmakers and the support of six MLAs from the Progressive Democratic Front and one BJP dissident, he has a majority.

  4. The BJP's 27 lawmakers too are back in state capital Dehradun from Delhi and played Holi today in celebration, they said, of "the fall of the corrupt Harish Rawat government."

  5. "Our state unit is discussing all options in Uttarakhand and any decision will now be taken as per the ground reality there. If elections take place, the BJP will get a full majority," said BJP spokesperson Muqtar Abbas Naqvi.

  6. The Congress in the morning moved court against the imposition of President's Rule, describing it as a "murder of democracy." Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Modiji don't let your love of power overrule ppl's mandate. @INCIndia is ready-fight elections, seek ppl's mandate, don't usurp their right."

  7. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley wrote in a blog on Monday, saying "Article 356 of the Constitution can be invoked only if the President is satisfied that there are grounds for believing that the governance of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution."

  8. He said the split in the Congress meant that more people voted against the state government's finance bill on March 18 than for it. If a finance bill fails, the government falls.

  9. Uttarakhand Governor KK Paul's reports on the political situation and on a sting operation against Mr Rawat, aired over the weekend, are said to have played a key role in the decision to impose President's Rule.

  10. The rebel lawmakers released a sting video on Saturday, alleging that Mr Rawat was attempting horse-trading to save his government. Mr Rawat has rejected the video as fake.



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