President's rule imposed in Uttarakhand

Congress workers hold demonstrations to protest against the decision; BJP hails the move

After the rebellion by nine ruling Congress MLAs and a sting operation against former Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Uttarakhand was brought under the President's rule on Sunday.

President Pranab Mukherjee signed the proclamation under the Article 356 of the Constitution dismissing the Harish Rawat government a day before the crucial floor test. The state Assembly was placed under the suspended animation. Rawat immediately decried the move saying it was "the murder of the democracy." The Congress might move the Supreme Court against the imposition of President's rule, party leader Ambika Soni said. "I can't say it now but the decision whether we should move the Supreme Court will be taken by the collective Congress leadership."

President's rule came following the recommendation of the Union Cabinet. The Cabinet had held an emergency meeting on Saturday night presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had cut short a visit to Assam. The Cabinet considered several reports sent by Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul, who had described the political situation in the state ahead of the floor test on Monday as volatile. Now, there will be no floor test on Monday in the state Assembly.

The Congress is of the view that the imposition of President's rule is arbitrary since the Governor has given time till Monday to the chief minister to prove his majority on the floor of the House. As Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal was just about to disqualify the nine Congress rebels from the Vidhan Sabha, the report of President's rule in the hill state took the ruling party by storm.

Congress party workers held demonstrations at a number of places in the state in protest against the decision.

On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party welcomed the move. "The state was sinking in deep corruption. The sting operation exposed the chief minister. In such a situation, the President had no option but to impose President's rule in the state," said state BJP chief Ajay Bhatt.

The political developments began when the Finance Bill was declared as passed in the state Assembly on March 18 by voice vote by the Speaker despite the BJP's demand for a division of votes. The BJP along with the nine rebels alleged that the Bill had been defeated in the House and, hence, Rawat should resign.

On that day, only 67 members were present. The BJP alleged that 35 members including nine Congress rebels had opposed the Bill. The next day, the governor asked the CM to prove his majority by March 28. Last Sunday, the Speaker issued notices to the rebels as part of the move to disqualify them. In these circumstances, the Rawat would have saved his government in the floor test.

Weapon of last resort: use of Article 356

In 1977, the Janata Party government dismissed nine Congress state governments - Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (UP). In retaliation, in 1980, the Indira Gandhi government dismissed nine non-Congress governments - Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and UP. Punjab has had the longest spell of President's rule so far - from 1987 to 1992 - for more than four years. Jammu and Kashmir saw Governor's Rule for more than six years, because of the militancy situation there. Manipur is the state where President's rule has been imposed the most number of times - 10 followed by UP (nine times), and Bihar and Punjab (eight times each).