The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won round one against the Congress with the imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand. However, the battle is not over for the Congress yet as it is set to challenge the order in the Uttarakhand High Court on Monday.
With less than 24 hours before the crucial trust vote in the Uttarakhand Assembly where Chief Minister Harish Rawat was to prove majority support for his government, the Centre, in a dramatic move, dismissed the Congress government and imposed President’s rule citing breakdown of governance. Not amused by the step, Harish Rawat termed it as the murder of democracy.
Hitting out at the BJP leadership, Rawat said, "Modi and Amit Shah wanted to topple my government at all costs. They wanted to remove Harish Rawat from the scene for which they went to the extent of murdering democracy. They even murdered the sentiments of the people of Uttarakhand."
A political crisis in Uttarakhand was precipitated last week itself when nine Congress MLAs rebelled against the Rawat-led government and rallied with the BJP. But the decision to impose President's rule took shape on Saturday night in a central government Cabinet meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Sunday afternoon, a formal nod to the decision was given by President Pranab Mukherjee.
With the move coming weeks after President's rule was imposed in Arunachal Pradesh, an angry Congress claimed that the BJP had stooped to a new low and would challenge the order in court.
With the Congress government no longer in the driving seat, it will be interesting to see if the Governor will invite BJP-led coalition to form a government or listen to the demands of rebel Congress leaders calling for early elections in the state.
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