President's Rule Imposed In Uttarakhand, Congress Says 'Murder of Democracy'

Dehradun, New Delhi: President's Rule has been imposed in Uttarakhand a day before the crucial trust vote in the state assembly for the Harish Rawat government.

The Cabinet had recommended the imposition of Central rule in the state last night following an hour-long emergency meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today, it received the formal nod from President Pranab Mukherjee.

The Government justified the imposition of President's Rule saying the Harish Rawat government was "unconstitutional" and "immoral" since March 18, when the "failed" Appropriation Bill was shown as passed.

"A division of vote was asked but was rejected... This is the first time that a failed bill was passed without a division of vote," said Union minister Arun Jaitley.

With the move coming weeks after President's Rule was imposed in Arunachal Pradesh, the furious Congress alleged that the BJP was stooping to new lows.  

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Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi tweeted:
Asking how the BJP could "short circuit" a floor test asked for by the Governor, he said,  "Floor test is the most sanctified manner of testing the strength of the government." The BJP's move is contrary to ethics, SC judgement, good governance, he told NDTV.

Claiming he is yet to get the notification, Mr Rawat said there was "no parallel in history wherein a government is  asked to prove majority on the next day and less than 24 hours, it is sacked".

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"Jurists, parliament and courts, all have held that the strength of a government is proved on the floor of the assembly," he added.

The crisis in Uttarakhand had started earlier this month, after nine lawmakers of the ruling Congress, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, had rebelled against the Harish Rawat government. Yesterday, the Speaker had reportedly put them on notice, asking why they should not be disqualified under the anti-defection law.

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The decision to disqualify them would have reduced the effective strength of the 70-member house to 61, giving the Congress 27 lawmakers. Along with support from six lawmakers of the Progressive Democratic Front, it would have got an effective strength of 33 -- enough to win Monday's trust vote. The opposition BJP had 28 legislators.

The same day, the rebels Congress lawmakers released a sting video of Mr Rawat, alleging that he had indulged in horse-trading to save his government. The state BJP immediately contended that governance had completely broken down in the state and called for President's Rule.

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Trashing the charge, Mr Rawat had accused the journalist who conducted the sting of conniving with Opposition parties to destabilise his government.

Calling Uttarakhand an internal problem of Congress, Union minister Arun Jaitley has said, "Everything that can go wrong with constitutional functioning has happened in Uttarakhand. It is a textbook example of breakdown of governance."